Strange Feelings
by MattheJ1
Summary: Set in the 21st century, Elsa must come to grips with her strange new powers - as well as her feelings for her best friend, Anna.
1. Chapter 1: May Day

_Please, remember to leave a review telling me how I'm doing. I love to read them._

Strange feelings

**Chapter one**

**May Day**

Elsa leaned against a lamppost, backpack slung over one shoulder. She glanced at her watch expectantly, then looked back at the house in front of her. She had been waiting 15 minutes already, and she was starting to lose her patience.

It was quite astonishing. Elsa had been in Anna's room many times over the years, and she had seen proof that Anna's alarm clock went off at the same time as hers, and yet she was always the first one out. Even when she slept over, she was always out of bed before Anna. Maybe it was something in her genetics.

Finally, Anna burst out the door, hastily putting away her comb. "Sorry, I overslept," she said.

"No, that's the same amount of time you sleep every day," Elsa pointed out.

"You know what I mean," Anna said irritably.

"And you know what Mr. Wesley is going to say," Elsa said, walking quickly.

"Of course I do." Anna straightened her back, preparing her signature impression of him. "Anna, you live two blocks away from this school. I can see your house from this window." She gestured at an imaginary window. "And yet, you manage to be this late every single day. How? Even Miss Elsa is on time more often than you, and you two live next door to each other."

"Sounds about right," Elsa said.

"You know, I think he's said something like that every single day I've come to his class."

"Well, maybe if you showed up on time, he wouldn't say it," Elsa pointed out.

"Why should I change? He's the one who disrupts the class, day after day, pointing out the blatantly obvious."

Elsa threw up her hands, conceding the point.

"Anyway, did your folks leave already?"

"Yep," Elsa said. "Their plane left last night."

"Sweet!" Anna said. "That means they should land in France at…" Her face screwed up as she calculated the time differences. "8:45 in the morning on…May Day!"

"What?"

"May Day, the traditional European holiday on May 1st."

Elsa shook her head. "Never heard of it."

"You're lucky you aren't in Mr. Fitzherbert's class. He made us memorize, like, a hundred obscure traditions. May Day was the first day of summer, back in the middle ages or something."

Anna wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead.

"Man, it sure feels like summer. How hot do you think it is today? 90? 95?"

Elsa looked at her. Anna was wearing cargo shorts and a tank top, which were almost certainly against the school dress code. She, on the other hand, was wearing jeans and a blue pullover.

"What, do you just not get hot anymore?"

Elsa thought about it. "No, I guess I don't."

Anna pressed the issue. "Is this, like, a maturity thing? Like, when I turn 19, I'll suddenly never get hot?"

Elsa gave her a sideways grin. "Like you'll mature more in 3 months than in the last 18 years?"

"You never know, the future is always shrouded in mystery."

"I guess."

As they reached the school, Elsa thought about how lucky she was to have a friend like Anna. In the ten years she had lived here, she never really made too many friends. It just wasn't in her nature. Anna, on the other hand, seemed to make friends almost involuntarily. Wherever she went, people just turned friendly. Right from the start, she had been determined to become Elsa's friend, and she succeeded almost instantly.

Over the years, there had been times when she had felt like curling into a ball and just leaving the rest of the world behind. Elsa vs. the world. Anna would have none of it. She would always insist on keeping her company, even when she wanted to be alone more than anything else. With all the friends she had, Anna had decided that she, Elsa, the quiet introvert, was going to be her best friend.

Friends like that come around once in a lifetime, and Elsa was very grateful for her.

They hurried to their classroom, arriving just seconds after the bell rang. Mr. Wesley was standing there, chalk in hand already. When he saw the two of them, he frowned.

"Anna, you live two blocks away from this school," he began.

The whole class sighed as Mr. Wesley launched into his usual speech.

Elsa sat down, getting out her notebook. She reflected that, so far, everything was pretty normal today.

Then again, wasn't that kind of redundant? Most of the time, everything IS normal. That's where the definition of 'normal' comes from. Now and then, something unusual may happen, but it usually doesn't last long. If it does, then it becomes the new normal.

So yes, everything was normal. But that doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

xxxxxxx

The day went by fairly quickly and without incident – understandable, as it was just a few weeks before final exams started. The teachers elected to use this time to review. Anna elected to use this time to practice her paper airplane technique. In first period alone, Elsa counted 10 paper airplanes sailing past her head. She unfolded one that landed by her and saw, to her surprise, that they were from Anna's notebook.

"Won't you need those to study?" Elsa asked later on.

"Study? I already know everything I need," she said with a laugh.

Elsa never understood how Anna had been able to maintain a string of Bs and B+s throughout all of grade school when, to her knowledge, she never spent any time studying. Asked about this once, Anna had replied, "Oh, I guess I just remember it all. It's not too hard."

One by one, each of her classes flew by, and before long, the day was over. The two reunited as they walked back to their houses.

"So, got any plans for tonight?" Anna asked.

"No, not really. I was just going to study."

"Well, that's no fun!" Anna replied. "Come on, your parents are out of town, out of state, out of country! How often does that happen?"

"Once a year, Anna. It's called an anniversary."

"Yeah, but this is the first year they didn't get you a babysitter."

"Because I'm old enough to take care of myself."

"Oh, really?" she replied, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me, what did you plan to make for dinner tonight?"

Elsa opened her mouth to reply, then stopped. She hadn't really learned how to make any kind of elaborate dinner for herself. Really, she had never personally prepared anything more complex than Ramen noodles. Anna, who had taken many cooking classes, was now grinning at her evilly.

"There was some…leftover meatloaf in the fridge," Elsa offered lamely.

Anna rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless."

xxxxxxx

The bacon sizzled and spat in its pan. Anna studied it carefully, then, deciding its time had come, whisked the pan off the hot burner, snatching up the individual slices and placing them on the two otherwise completed sandwiches.

Elsa stood beside her. "I don't know, Anna. When you said you could prepare a meal for me, I didn't think you meant a BLT sandwich."

"What, don't you like BLT?"

"No, I do, it's just that I thought you had something more…complex in mind."

Anna made an elaborate fake gasp. "Bite upon your tongue! And when you're done, bite into this," she said, shoving a plate with the completed sandwich into Elsa's hands. "And your misgivings will dissolve into oblivion."

Elsa picked up the sandwich and took a bite. A wide array of flavors assaulted her tongue at once, quickly combining into a cohesive, and very delicious, whole.

"Wow, this is great!" she exclaimed.

"Told you," Anna replied with a smug grin.

"I've never had a BLT that tasted this good," Elsa continued, taking another bite.

"Well, that's because it's not just a BLT. There's a lot of different ingredients you have to add to make sandwiches taste their best."

"Like what?" Elsa mumbled through a mouth full of sandwich.

"Love."

Elsa looked at her, a funny look in her eyes.

"Or horseradish. I always get those two mixed up," Anna said. "Both are lethal if you put too much in the wrong place."

"Ok," said Elsa uncertainly.

"And now, for the finishing touch, drinks!" Anna said.

"Right," said Elsa, turning to the fridge. "I've got half a case of Sprite, and there's plenty of…"

She trailed off when she saw the six-pack in Anna's hands.

"Sprite?" she said, grinning ear to ear. "I never drink that stuff. It'll kill you."

"Anna, are you crazy?"

"Honestly, Elsa, how is that still a question at this point?"

"We can't drink, we're underage!"

"My dad said that his dad gave him his first drink at 14, and he was just fine."

"Yeah, because that was in Russia, where there's no legal drinking age!"

"If he could survive it at 14, you'll be just fine at 19."

"It's illegal!"

"The cops don't take door-to-door breathalyzer tests, Elsa. We'll be staying indoors, not hurting anyone. It'll be fine!"

"But we have school tomorrow," Elsa pointed out.

Anna frowned. "Elsa, this is a six-pack. If we each have three drinks, we'll both be fine by tomorrow morning, I promise."

"How do you know that?"

Anna looked at her, raising her eyebrows.

Understanding dawned on Elsa.

Anna pulled out a can and offered it to her. "Trust me, you'll be fine. I'm not about to lie to my best friend in the world."

Elsa thought it over for a moment.

"Well, I guess you have experience with this sort of thing," Elsa said grudgingly, taking the can.

"That's the spirit," said Anna, taking a can of her own. "Worst thing that'll happen, you'll feel a teeny bit dizzy, maybe have a bad dream or two tonight."

Elsa opened her can and took a tentative sip.

She immediately spat it back out.

"Oh, yeah," said Anna, "I forgot to tell you. Until you build up an acquired taste for it, beer kinda tastes like piss."

xxxxxxx

In the end, Elsa only drank two cans, with Anna finishing off the remaining four. She didn't quite get drunk, although she did start to feel a warm, overarching sense of comfort and relaxation that Anna helpfully identified as 'a bit tipsy.' And although she still hadn't quite acquired the taste by the end of it, she saw why so many people would be willing to.

Anna, on the other hand, seemed to be running the full gambit, talking in slightly slurred speech and laughing at everything just a little too much. She assured Elsa that she was fine, and indeed, she did still seem to be quite in control of her own thoughts and actions.

"Next morning at school, don't yell too loud," she requested. "I'll be better by lunch."

The two spent the rest of the evening on Elsa's couch, watching the television but mostly just chilling out. Elsa heard herself talking a lot more than usual.

"I mean, why would anyone need a kitchen knife that sharp?" Elsa asked. "You only use them for, like, potatoes and shit, right?"

"That's why they show the commercials late at night," Anna mumbled. "You're all stupid and tired, so you don't think too hard about it." She yawned, stretching her arms up and leaning to her side, as if to lie down.

Her head landed gently on Elsa's shoulder.

Elsa looked at her. A few minutes ago, they had been sitting on opposite ends of the couch, and now here Anna was, right next to her. It wasn't unpleasant – quite the opposite, really – but it did seem a little weird.

"Anna?" she said inquisitively.

"It's cold in here," Anna responded, snuggling up even closer.

Elsa looked at the thermostat. It had indeed cooled down quite a lot, though Elsa felt fine.

"Want me to get you a blanket?" she offered.

"No thanks," Anna said. "You're enough for me." She clumsily wrapped her arms around Elsa.

Was this normal drunk behavior? Elsa couldn't say for sure. Anna certainly wasn't acting like herself tonight. Elsa decided to indulge it. She certainly wasn't hurting anyone. At the very least, she'd have something embarrassing to hold over her head tomorrow.

Although, now that she thought of it, it didn't feel that bad at all. It was actually quite pleasant, feeling the warmth of Anna's body next to hers. Warm and cozy next to someone you care about an awful lot.

This thought surprised her. She had never considered herself that kind of girl, and she had never thought Anna was like that either. It must just be the alcohol. Yes, that made sense. They were close friends, after all. With impaired judgment like this, of course that her feelings would get a little mixed up.

And really, what was it hurting? They were still two very good friends. So what if Anna was getting a little too close? Elsa didn't really mind that much. The next morning, she'd laugh about the thoughts that were going through her head right now, if she remembered them at all.

Then Anna slipped her hand underneath Elsa's jeans.

Elsa sat bolt upright. "Okay, that's enough for today," she said hastily, getting to her feet and pulling Anna up. "Time to go home."

"Sorry, Elsa," Anna said in a slurred voice. "You're just so fucking hot!"

"That's nice," said Elsa, pulling her along. "Now, come with me, and we'll get you back to your nice, warm bed."

"How about your nice, warm bed?" suggested Anna, but she complied.

The two staggered over to Anna's house, Elsa often having to use her full strength stop Anna from falling over entirely. Elsa knocked on the door.

After a few seconds, Anna's mom opened the door. She was a big and tall woman, but this imposing figure belied a warm and kind personality.

"Hi, Jenna," Elsa said amiably, trying to hold still with Anna leaning against her.

"Hello, Elsa," she responded kindly. Turning to Anna, she said, "Okay, little one, time for bed."

"Okay, mommy," Anna said sleepily, walking past her mother and stumbling upstairs.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth," Jenna called. She smiled, then turned back to Elsa. "My dear, you're blushing," she noticed. "Did my Anna say something troublesome?"

"A bit, yeah," Elsa admitted. "But nothing bad or anything, just a little…weird. We were both just a bit tipsy. I'm sure she wasn't serious about it."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that," Jenna said. "Alcohol never makes you a liar. In fact, most of the time, it's only when you get a bit of liquor in you that you start saying stuff you really mean, and thinking how you really think.

"Well, thanks for bringing her home. I'll make sure she gets to school on time tomorrow. Good night!"

And the door closed, leaving Elsa alone on the doorstep with her thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2: Stirrings

**Chapter two**

**Stirrings**

"Ugh, that class took forEVer!" Anna shouted as Elsa unlocked the door. "Second day of review week, and they decided to shove everything we ever learned in fifth period into one lecture!"

"At least it's over now," Elsa said amiably, opening her house's front door. "Another day, another brain cell."

"Yeah, I guess." Anna opened the fridge and pulled out a jug of milk.

Elsa quickly grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and put it into Anna's other hand. "Listen, I'm glad you let me try it, but let's not have any more alcohol tonight, okay?"

"Of course not," Anna said casually, drinking from the jug. She set the unused glass down, wiping her mouth with the hand she had been holding it with. "You never get drunk two nights in a row, unless you've got some brain cells you need killed."

Elsa started up the stairs towards her bedroom. "So you're sure you don't mind staying here a couple nights?" She hadn't wanted to admit it, but it had been a little scary, sleeping all alone in her house.

"Are you kidding? Of course I don't mind! It'll be great, just like when we were little." She followed Elsa up the stairs.

"By the way," she added, "I don't suppose you'd want to have…fettuccine alfredo for dinner, would you?"

Elsa turned to her. "You're joking. I love fettuccine alfredo!"

"So does my mom. We make it every Tuesday at my house," Anna said.

"Well, I should start coming over on Tuesdays," Elsa replied.

"Maybe so." Anna scratched her head. "I feel like I've told you that before."

"Hmm, I can't remember."

"Weird."

They reached the bedroom door. Elsa stepped to one side, gesturing for Anna to come in first.

"It might seem a little smaller than you remember, but that's just because I got a bigger bed," Elsa said as she walked in behind her. "There should be an inflatable air mattress in the closet. Do you want the mattress or the bed?"

Anna, staring at the bed, didn't say anything. Then, after a few moments of silence, she turned towards Elsa. The look in her eyes was one of pure mischief.

"Anna?"

"I'd like the bed," she said. "But you know, it doesn't feel fair to make you sleep on the ground."

"I don't mind-" Elsa began, but Anna held up her hand. She wasn't finished.

"Really, it only seems fair that we…share the bed."

Something about the way she said it made Elsa uncomfortable. She remembered what had happened the previous night.

"Uh, okay," she stammered nervously. "Which side do you want? Left? Right?"

Anna shook her head. "How about on top?"

Before she could respond, Anna lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Elsa's neck. She kissed her on the lips.

Elsa's eyes opened wide in surprise. She tried to pull away, but Anna's grip was like iron. She opened her mouth, and then Anna stuck her tongue into it.

Elsa, now thoroughly confused and flustered, started squirming, trying to break away and tell Anna to stop. Anna let go, and Elsa opened her mouth again. "Anna-"

Then Anna reached her hand under her jeans and started to caress her down there.

Elsa was caught totally off guard as confusion and indignation gave way to passion. She tried to collect her thoughts, but Anna kept rubbing, and all she could do was moan in guttural joy.

That was all the approval Anna needed. She spun Elsa around, pushing her onto the bed and coming down on top of her. Even as she continued to caress her, Anna tore open her shirt with her other hand, ripping off the buttons. She pulled her off the bed and forced her arms back, sliding the shirt off of Elsa's body.

She stopped her caresses for a moment, reaching around Elsa and undoing her bra with both hands.

"Wait," murmured Elsa, but she didn't listen. Anna pulled her brassiere off, exposing her bare chest.

Next, Anna moved down, unbuttoning Elsa's jeans and pulling. Her jeans and panties came off as one, leaving her bare and exposed, shivering on the bed.

Elsa sat up, crossing her arms over her chest in modesty. Anna stared into her eyes, leaving an unspoken question hanging in the air.

For just a second, there was absolute silence. Then, Elsa put her arms down.

"Yes…please," she whispered.

Anna pushed her back, forcing her onto the bed again. She bore down on Elsa, a look of unfettered desire in her eyes. Anna kissed her again, and this time she kissed back, their tongues weaving an intricate dance within each other's mouths.

With her right hand, Anna caressed Elsa's breasts, and with her left, she shoved three fingers into her pussy. She began thrusting with these fingers, forcing them deeper and deeper into Elsa. Pain and pleasure erupted in her mind, so intense and intertwined that she could no longer tell the two apart.

Anna thrust faster and faster, harder and harder. Elsa wanted to tell her to slow down, that it was too much, but she could no longer form a coherent thought. All she could do was writhe and moan as Anna mercilessly continued her work.

Within Elsa, the passion built and built, until she was sure that she would explode. How could one person hold so much pleasure?

But then, finally, the climax came, and Elsa screamed loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood.

Anna looked into her eyes and smiled. "You're mine."

xxxxxxx

Elsa's eyes shot open. She sat bolt upright, panting heavily.

She looked at her bedside clock.

_12:30 a.m., Tuesday morning. It was all a dream._

Images from her shattered dream raced across her mind. She shook her head from side to side, but they wouldn't go away. She could still vividly recall seeing herself lying on this very bed, with Anna right on top of her…

Quickly, she threw off the covers and jumped out of her bed, bursting into the bathroom. She turned on the light, opened the cold water tap and gathered a pool of icy water in her hands, splashing herself in the face.

_Calm down, Elsa,_ she thought to herself. _You just had a nightmare, no doubt caused by your decision, against your better judgment, to get drunk last night._

_Oh, really?_ Another voice piped up in her mind. It sounded suspiciously like Anna's. _You call that a nightmare?_

_Yes, I would._

_A nightmare is when you dream about falling off a cliff, or getting buried alive. What you just had, Elsa, was a wet dream. A pretty intense one, too._

_Fine, it was a wet dream. That doesn't change anything._

The sound of Anna's melodious laugh rang in Elsa's ears, so vivid that she actually looked around the room for a moment.

_Of course it does, Elsa. You're hot for me._

_No, that's not true at all. I like you as a friend, Anna. I would never do anything to change that._

But even as she thought these things, another part of her brain spoke up.

_Why did you have that dream, then?_

_I already said, I was drunk._

_Come on, sweetheart,_ Anna's voice piped up again._ If getting drunk made you gay, there'd be a lot less guys going to bars to meet women._

_It impaired my judgment, whatever. I'm not that kind of woman._

_How do you know?_

"I'm just not!" she shouted aloud. Her voice echoed around the room.

_Who's the last man you've had a crush on?_

Elsa searched her mind, trying to think of someone. None of her classmates came to mind. Surely there had been some movie star, or something.

But the only face that came to mind was Anna's. Her fiery red hair, her freckled cheeks, her big blue eyes…

_I need to clear my head._

She turned the cold water faucet again, but nothing came out. She tried the hot faucet. Still nothing. After a few seconds, she heard the pipes starting to groan.

Was the water…frozen?

Then Elsa looked at the mirror above the sink, and as she exhaled, she realized that she could see her breath. She leaned in closer, putting her left hand on the mirror and exhaling.

No doubt about it, her breath formed a visible cloud. But how? It was a pretty warm night, and she didn't feel cold at all. Was this still a dream?

Then she looked at her hand, and she gasped.

A thick layer of frost was forming on the surface of the mirror, radiating out from her left hand. Even as she stared, the ice thickened and spread.

Elsa pinched herself on the arm. It hurt. This was no dream.

Trying to remain calm, Elsa tried taking her hand off the mirror. It wouldn't come off. Elsa pulled harder, but the ice had now covered her entire hand.

She began to freak out, pulling with all her might. This couldn't be happening. She felt like the world as she knew it was dissolving around her.

Now the ice had completely engulfed the mirror, and was spreading to the walls. The whole room was turning into an icy prison.

"Help!" she cried, even though she knew there was nobody who could hear her. She pounded on the mirror with her other hand, trying anything to get free.

Cracks started forming on the ice, and her hand started moving. Not realizing the consequences until it was too late, Elsa gave one last yank.

The mirror shattered into pieces as her hand came free. Giant shards of glass and ice flew towards her. She fell backwards from her own momentum, and she held up her right hand to shield herself, closing her eyes in anticipation.

Elsa hit the floor, but nothing else did. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes.

Every last shard of broken glass had been stopped in midair, the moment of shattering frozen in time. A jagged line of ice connected all the shards to the wall.

Elsa looked at the palm of her hand. Had she done that?

Shakily, she got to her feet. She turned to the wall, holding out her hand in front of her. She concentrated.

Instantly, a blast of ice shot from her fingertips, flying in a straight line to the wall and shattering on contact.

Elsa gasped, immediately closing her hand into a fist and holding it with her other hand, like it was a bomb or something. She could feel her heart beating out of control, her breathing quick and shallow.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It wasn't happening.

Suddenly, the bathroom felt tiny. Elsa felt like she was under great pressure, as if the white walls were closing in on her. She turned around and opened the bathroom door, quickly stepping into her bedroom.

Then she saw what had happened while she was asleep.

Illuminated by the bathroom light, Elsa saw that every wall in the room was covered with a thick coat of ice, as well as all of her dressers and chairs. Mounds of snow were littered around the room, and icicles covered the ceiling.

Elsa, shivering uncontrollably, curled into a ball. What was happening to her?


	3. Chapter 3: Slamming doors

**Chapter three**

**Slamming doors**

Anna walked out the door, humming a little tune. Her backpack felt so light today, what with her getting rid of all of her notes the previous day. It seemed like today would be quite the beautiful day. The sun was brighter, the birds were louder – and for once, it wasn't in the literal sense.

She had managed, against all odds, to escape a hangover. She couldn't remember much of what had happened the night before, but she recalled drinking more than Elsa had. They had started a little earlier than she was used to, but still, her not having even the slightest of hangovers this early in the morning was downright miraculous. She was even up early – well, earlier than usual – early enough to be on time, for once. What an amazing start to her day.

Surprisingly, though, Elsa wasn't out there, waiting for her. Anna couldn't remember a morning when Elsa hadn't been there, tapping her foot expectantly, waiting for her to finally get up. Then again, she couldn't remember the first few minutes of most of her days, due to her brain not being fully functional at that point (as if it ever was).

_Come on, Elsa, you couldn't handle two beers?_

But no, that couldn't possibly be the case. It had taken her three beers to get even reasonably drunk, right from the start, and she had a smaller build than Elsa.

_She must've gone without me, because she thought I'd be out all morning with a hangover._

_Joke's on her. I'll show up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and take everyone by surprise._

So, Anna set out for the school. She couldn't help but feel a little let down, however. She had wanted Elsa to be the first to see her outfit for the day, which was, essentially, a sports bra and the shortest miniskirt she owned. She had underwear with more surface area than this outfit.

Of course, it was hot outside. The hottest temperatures in a decade, or so the television said. All across the news, there were stories of droughts and brush fires, and even a warning that house fires were far more likely around this time of the year. But that wasn't the main reason she wore these outfits.

Once, the school had actually complained about Anna's attire. This was in 8th grade, where, on the hottest day of the year, she had shown up wearing only a bikini and encouraged other students to do the same. She was sent home early, with a note to her father, asking him to 'please tell your daughter to dress in accordance with the recommended attire.'

Her dad had responded with a furious (as far as they knew) letter, demanding to know how they dared tell his daughter how to dress. He informed them that his little girl was very temperature sensitive, especially to hot weather. He suggested that, in record high temperatures, maybe he should send her to school in a burka, only hoping that her inevitable heat stroke would not be in violation of the school's code of conduct. He went on to say that maybe he should write a letter to the district regarding the school's faulty air conditioning system, which had left his precious little girl with no choice to disregard the school's 'recommended attire' purely in the interest of self-preservation.

The next day, they had received a formal apology, signed by the principal, no less, which essentially stated that Anna would be allowed to wear anything that didn't fall into the category of indecent exposure.

Her dad was awesome.

She quickly made it to the school and into the classroom, standing at the doorway and scanning the class, looking for Elsa's familiar face. However, she was nowhere to be found.

Confused, Anna entered the classroom, making sure to pick a chair with an empty seat right beside it.

Mr. Wesley looked at her, surprised. "Well, well, well, it seems Ms. Anna's on time today. That's a first."

Anna ignored him, staring at the doorway.

"And how cunning of you, too," he continued, oblivious. "Very clever, to wait all the way until the very end of the school year to prove that you own a functioning alarm clock."

Anna turned to him and was about to suggest that he shut his passive-aggressive mouth up, when Elsa walked through the door.

She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, grey sweatpants, and wool gloves. Anna could tell she had multiple layers on, too.

Anna tried to catch her gaze, but Elsa ducked her head down, moving quickly towards the empty back-left seat, the one closest to the door – and farthest from Anna.

"All right, everyone, class is in session," Mr. Wesley said, thus robbing Anna of the chance to switch seats. Anna, at this point very confused and more than a little hurt, had no choice but to sit down and pretend to pay attention to the lecture.

Five minutes in, Anna furtively glanced back at Elsa. Her head was parallel to the desk, her hoodie obscuring her face completely. She was scribbling furiously in her notebook, even though the lecture was just reviewing topics that Elsa probably knew by heart.

She wasn't being very subtle, though. Anna could see her pencil moving in the looping patterns that suggested cursive, only too repetitive to actually be words. Anna was willing to bet all the money she had that Elsa was just writing line upon line of gibberish and pretending to be very interested in it.

This all made no sense to her. Had she done something wrong, or did something bad happen to Elsa? She had seemed just fine last night. Maybe she got a call about something happening to her parents? No, if that had been the case, she wouldn't have come in the first place. Even Elsa's unshakable compulsion for perfect attendance couldn't override grief of that magnitude.

One thing was clear, though: Elsa was in a serious funk.

The class seemed to last forever, every second ticking past slower than the last one. When the bell finally rang, Anna didn't even bother trying to catch Elsa. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she would make a break for the door as soon as she could, which she did.

They had different classes for second period, on opposite ends of the building. Anna considered blowing hers off to follow Elsa, but she knew it would be pointless. They had third period together, but Anna didn't plan to disturb her there, either.

_No, I'll just wait until lunch time. That should give her a chance to cool off from whatever she's so upset about._

There was, of course, a chance that this could all be harmlessly explained away. Maybe Elsa just had a rough start. But for some reason, Anna had a feeling that this wasn't the case.

xxxxxxx

The cafeteria was, as always, crowded. You could barely hear yourself think with all the commotion, and in some places students formed an impenetrable throng. If you wanted to escape a pursuer, this would be the place to do it.

Except Elsa wasn't being pursued. She didn't want to slip into a crowd, she just wanted to be alone. That was why, instead of hiding in the dense clusters of students hilariously still called 'lines', Elsa was sitting all alone in a corner of the cafeteria, eating a sack lunch.

As Anna surreptitiously snuck closer, it didn't take her long to see what was wrong with the picture. She was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, hand crafted, and on the rare occasion she looked up, she blasted anyone who happened to be standing nearby with a faux Goth glare that seemed to say, 'Go ahead, try and be positive to me.' In short, just another high school loner, to be avoided at all costs.

Except, if you looked closer (which people tended not to), you could tell it was all a front. For starters, she had picked the wrong corner, sitting right next to a busy hallway instead of the many quieter edges of the cafeteria. Second, her PB&J was very sloppily assembled, with jelly oozing out of multiple sides. In fact, as Anna watched, Elsa took a bite that appeared to be composed of nothing but jelly. The ensuing grimace pretty much shattered the illusion for her.

Anna picked up her own sack lunch, which contained two separately wrapped halves of her absolute favorite sandwich: ham, turkey, pepperoni and salami, with a jalapeños and a hint of sriracha sauce. If she had known what she would need it for, she could've picked a better sandwich, but Anna knew for a fact that Elsa liked this kind a whole lot more than PB&J.

As she sneakily made her way towards Elsa's table, a part of her mind snickered at what she was doing.

_Eighteen years old, and you're resorting to swapping lunches. Truly you are quite the social butterfly._

In truth, she really hadn't thought this plan over too much. She was hoping that the innocent act of goodwill would snap Elsa out of whatever she was going through. If not…

She slid onto the bench right next to Elsa. No reaction.

"Well, hi there, neighbor. Is this seat taken?"

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she second-guessed herself.

_Does she look like she's in the mood for jokes?_

Elsa turned to look at her. From this close, Anna could see her eyes were bloodshot, and she had dark circles under them.

"You can sit here if you want," she said quietly.

There was silence for a few moments while Anna worked out in her head what to do next.

"Uh, Elsa," she said, reaching into her bag. "Would you…like to split this sandwich with me?"

"No thanks," Elsa replied before she had even shown her what kind it was.

She persisted. "It's a meat lover's-"

"I don't want any of your sandwich, Anna!" Elsa shouted.

Anna flinched a little. It was as if the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped 20 degrees.

After a few seconds, Anna broke the silence again. "Are…are you okay, Elsa?"

Elsa sighed. "I'm fine, Anna. It's just…I'm under a lot of pressure right now."

The implication was left open, and Anna took the initiative. "Oh, because of the exams coming up?"

"Yeah, the exams," Elsa said hollowly.

"Oh, well that's understandable," Anna said benevolently. "Happens to the best of us."

It was pretty clear there was a lot more going on here than just exam season stress, but it was clear Elsa didn't want to talk about it. By giving her an easy out, Anna hoped to steer the discussion away from what was clearly a very touchy subject.

"And these review classes are no help either," she piped up, hoping to find some common ground here. "You'd think that now, just before the finals, they might give us a lighter load? Nope, it's the same old grindstone. Another day, another brain cell, same as-"

Without saying a word, Elsa stood up, grabbing her backpack and sack lunch, and began to walk away.

"Elsa, wait!" Anna shouted, running after her. "Did I say something wrong? What's going on with you?"

Elsa spun around. "Nothing, okay?" she said, on the verge of shouting. "You didn't say anything wrong, you didn't do anything wrong. It's not your fault. Now let me eat my lunch in peace!" And with that, she stormed out of the dining hall, turning a corner and disappearing.

"What are you talking about?" Anna shouted, running after her. "What's not my-"

She turned the corner, but Elsa was already long gone. She was far down the hallway, and still running.

Anna put her head in her hands. What had she done wrong this time?

xxxxxxx

She made no effort to talk to Elsa for the rest of the school day. At this point, the only thing left to do was give it some time, wait for things to calm down. Elsa spent her last three periods scribbling down her imaginary notes, while Anna tried to figure out exactly what she had done wrong and making absolutely sure that she didn't make the same mistake twice.

When the final bell rang, Elsa raced to the door, just like in all their other classes. She made it out the front door before anyone else in their class. When she saw Anna, however, this time she began to slow down. Anna's heart leapt with hope.

"Hey, Anna," she said, turning to look at her. "I'm sorry about what happened at lunch. I got a little carried away."

"No, no, it was my fault," Anna said, just grateful that Elsa was speaking to her voluntarily. "I was pushing too hard when you clearly wanted to be alone. I should've respected your boundaries."

Anna had no intention to argue over who was in the right. She would simply be as humble and apologetic as possible, doing everything she could to get herself back on Elsa's good side.

Elsa hung her head, her body language expressing silent gratitude to Anna for shifting the entirety of the blame onto herself. Now, it seemed, was Anna's chance to get things back to normal.

"So, got any dinner plans tonight?" Anna asked.

"I found some leftover pizza in the fridge," she mumbled.

The thought of Elsa sitting alone in her empty house, eating leftover pizza while Anna and her family enjoyed a nice, home-cooked meal was terribly depressing. Surely nobody liked being that lonely.

Anna put her arm around Elsa's shoulders. "I don't know if I've told you this before, but every Tuesday, my family makes the best fettuccine alfredo you've ever-"

A blast of cold wind shoved Anna to the side, nearly knocking her off her feet. When she recovered, she saw that Elsa was running again.

Now she was starting to get angry. What could she have possibly done this time? What part of her sentence had triggered her?

Well, this time she was going to find out. Anna started running, too.

Whatever might be going on with Elsa, it was no excuse for the way she was acting. Whatever crisis she might be going through, Anna would find out what it was and help her with it. For both their sakes.

Already, they were almost at their houses, and Anna was catching up. She saw Elsa hastily open her front door and then run in, swinging the door shut behind her. Knowing that it would lock automatically, Anna reached forward, throwing her left hand into the path of the rapidly closing door.

Unfortunately, Elsa had swung the door with more force than she expected. The door smashed into her knuckles, and she cried out with pain.

As the door swung open again, Anna inspected her hand. Already she could see a bright red line forming.

_You're not bleeding, stay focused._

Anna stormed into the house, pushing the pain to the back of her mind.

Elsa was standing there, having turned around to investigate the noise. "What are you doing, Anna?" she said.

Anna was, by now, running out of patience. "Oh, like I'm the one that's been acting strange here?"

"Look, I'm sorry, Anna, but you can't just go around…oh my god, your hand!"

"Forget about my hand!" Anna said, though the pain was steadily rising. "Something's up with you, and I want to know what."

"We can talk later," Elsa said worriedly, motioning her towards the kitchen. "Right now we need to get that hand under some cold water. Follow me."

Suddenly, Anna saw, clear as day, what was going on. Elsa was using her injury and the illusion of concern to avoid explaining things to her even further. (When she thought about it later, Anna realized that she had been at least somewhat altruistic, but right now it certainly didn't look that way.) Anger started boiling inside her, whipping her into a state of fury.

And it is in anger that we make our most foolish decisions.

Anna dashed back to the front door, opened it up, and placed her still throbbing left hand in the crack. She held the door open with her other.

"Anna!" Elsa said, alarmed.

"Now, you're going to tell me why you've been acting like this, or I'll slam it again," Anna said angrily.

_What the hell are you thinking, Anna?_

"What the hell are you thinking, Anna?"

"Do you really care about my well-being? Then prove it," she said.

"Stop it, Anna. That'll hurt like hell," Elsa said, clearly concerned.

"Oh, so now you suddenly care about hurting me?" Anna shot back.

That one was totally off the top of her head, yet she knew she had found a winner. Elsa started to say something, then stopped. Then, after a few seconds, she started to cry.

Anna held her arms out wide. Elsa hesitated for a moment, then ran to her, wrapping her arms around her.

It was kind of weird, being hugged by someone wearing so many layers. Like hugging a bear.

Eventually, Elsa let go. "I'm sorry for how I've been acting, Anna. It's just…I'm going through a lot right now."

"It's okay," Anna said reassuringly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Elsa went quiet, thinking. She thought about it for a great deal of time. Anna could tell she didn't want to tell her what was going on, but it also seemed clear that she didn't want her to leave.

"Yes," she said after a while. "But I can't tell you everything. I wish I could, but if you get too involved in this, it'll only get worse. I know I've been a terrible friend today, but now I really need a really good friend, someone who can listen to what I have to say, and understand that I can't say any more."

Anna smiled broadly. "That I can do."

Then she winced. "But first, I'll take you up on that 'cold water' offer."

xxxxxxx

The two sat down at the kitchen table, Anna's left hand still wet.

"I really am sorry for how I was acting today," Elsa said sincerely. "I was so worried about myself, I didn't stop to think about how you might feel about it. Nobody should have to go through what I put you through today. It was rude, mean, and scummy."

Anna nodded. "But you had a reason for it."

Elsa looked uneasy. "Well…okay, here's the thing. Part of the reason I can't tell you what's going on is…well, I don't really know myself. And before you say anything, I don't think you know either. I don't mean any offense, of course."

"None taken. Continue."

"All I know is, something really weird is going on. I can keep it under control by myself, but it gets worse when I'm around other people." She looked directly at Anna. "Especially you."

"Me?"

"Like I said, I really don't understand that well myself, but from what I can tell, it's connected to my emotions. I can control them on my own, but sometimes, when I'm around you…" She looked at Anna again, eyes filled with remorse. "I wish I could tell you more, I really do."

"No, it's fine," Anna said. "I understand."

_Besides, if you're saying what I think you're saying…_

"I just need some time to figure a few things out," Elsa continued. "Just a few days to think everything over. Until then…" She looked at Anna, trying to figure out how best to phrase what she had to say.

"Do you want me to leave?" Anna asked.

Elsa nodded, her face awash with guilt.

Anna grabbed her backpack. "Okay. You need some time alone, I get it. Just give me a call when you want to hang out again."

"Wait, Anna," Elsa said. "At least let me get you a bag of ice for that hand." She ran to a drawer and pulled it open, revealing many boxes of plastic bags, in various sizes.

Anna started walking towards her. "I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt anymore," she said.

"It'll still swell," Elsa insisted. After fumbling around with a box for a while, Elsa sighed exasperatedly and pulled off her gloves.

"It's going to be lonely around here without you," Anna said wistfully.

"Well, you have plenty of other friends," Elsa said, pulling out a plastic baggie. She hurried over to her freezer.

Anna intercepted her on the way, turning Elsa to face her. "I've only got one best friend."

She wrapped both her hands around Elsa's left hand. Elsa was trembling.

"Listen," Anna said, looking right into her eyes. "I can't pretend to know what you're going through right now, but I want you to know that you can always count on me. I care about you, a lot, and it really hurts me to see you like this.

"So just promise me, if you ever get in over your head, that you'll let me help. I want you to be happy, no matter what. If that means staying away, then I will, but the moment you need me at your side, I'll be there. Sound fair?"

Elsa nodded.

Anna's hands felt strange. She looked down, and her eyes widened.

A thick layer of ice was forming around their hands. Already, it had coated her fingers, and it was now spreading down the backs of her hands.

Anna tried to pull away, but it was too thick already. She pulled harder, but her hands would not move.

Elsa just stared, her eyes wide with horror.

"No, no, no, no," she murmured, even as the ice thickened. Her whole body was shaking.

"Elsa," Anna said worriedly. No response. "Elsa!" she shouted. She remained frozen in place.

"ELSA!"

The shout was like a cymbal clash, breaking Elsa out of her trance. The ice forming around their hands instantly shattered into pieces, flying everywhere. A piece hit Anna in the forehead.

The two stared at each other, not saying a word. Silence hung heavy in the air.

Then Elsa turned around, bolting for the stairs.

Anna raced after her. "Elsa, wait!" she shouted, to no avail.

Elsa took the stairs two at a time, Anna close behind her. She reached her room and slammed the door, and Anna heard the lock click just as she reached the top of the stairs.

She pounded on the door. "Elsa, come back! What was that?"

"Go away, Anna!" came the reply, the voice thick with tears. "You'll just make it worse!"

And so, Anna found herself just where she didn't want to be – on the wrong side of a locked door, with no answers.


	4. Chapter 4: Stubbornness

**Chapter four**

**Stubbornness**

Of course, if two people are separated by a locked door, neither one is happy about the situation. Long after Anna had stopped knocking, Elsa was still lying, face down, on her bed, crying softly into a pillow.

_Idiot. You just stood there and let that happen._

_What was I supposed to do? Recoil from her touch, right after apologizing from the bottom of my heart? She'd never talk to me again!_

_At least she wouldn't have found out._

Elsa sat up, trying to regain her composure.

_What am I supposed to do now?_

Images from a thousand movies flashed through her head, of government troops surrounding her house, capturing her, spiriting her away to a top secret bunker-

She shook her head. _No. That's not going to happen. Anna will keep my secret._

_How do you know?_

_Because that's part of who she is. She's kind, caring, and loyal. She would never spill a secret like that._

From this, the obvious question came. _Then why didn't you just tell her about it in the first place?_

_I was scared, I wasn't thinking straight. I should have told her right away. I should have let her in instead of pushing her away._

_Yeah, well, shoulda coulda woulda._

_No, I still can!_

Elsa stood up and walked towards her bedroom door.

_This time, I'll tell her everything._

She unlocked the door, throwing it open wide. "Anna?" she called.

The hallway was empty.

Elsa's heart sank. _She's gone._

_You idiot, of course she's gone! That's what happens when you keep slamming doors in people's faces! Eventually, they go away!_

Suddenly, she heard a loud crashing noise behind her. She wheeled around. It had come from outside her window, which she had closed the drapes on. She ran to it now, threw back the drapes, and pulled the window open.

Anna was hanging from the bottom of the windowsill, legs swinging back and forth. Behind her, a ladder was lying on the ground.

Elsa grabbed her arms. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked, straining to pull her up.

"Something…stupid," Anna gasped.

Her feet scrabbled on the wall before she found a foothold, and with their combined efforts, Anna managed to climb into the room.

She collapsed onto the floor, and for a few seconds she just lay there, panting heavily. Then Anna got to her feet, staring around the room, eyes wide.

Elsa's room had only gotten worse. Now icicles were hanging from every ledge, and it had even started to snow.

Anna looked at her. "You did all this?"

Elsa nodded.

"Okay, wow. Yeah, all right, then," Anna stammered. "Yeah, no, that's fine. My best friend turned into an ice goddess – overnight." She backed into a chair, not so much sitting down as collapsing in an orderly manner. "Okay, cool, I just…give me a moment."

Anna shivered, and Elsa realized how cold it must be for her, dressed as she was. She ran to her closet, pulled out a woolen blanket, and wrapped it around Anna.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

Anna looked up at her. "Am I okay? How can you even be asking me that? Are YOU okay? You're the one with all the crazy stuff going on!"

"Well, it's just…you were shaking pretty hard," Elsa said.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. You have enough on your plate already without worrying about me," Anna said. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm…fine," Elsa said.

Actually, now that Anna was here, she was feeling a lot better. She had someone to trust, someone to talk to.

So she did just that. Anna listened, spellbound, as Elsa told her about everything that had happened from the previous afternoon up to this point in time.

Well, almost everything. She left out two key points: what Anna had done while they were drunk, and what, exactly, her dream had been about. _So much for telling her everything,_ she thought, but she didn't feel too guilty about it. There were far more important issues at hand, after all.

Elsa paced back and forth as she talked, her head bent. Whenever she reached a particularly emotional point, a stiff breeze would pick up within the room, then die just as quickly. She seemed oblivious to it.

Anna listened to it all, enraptured. She sat there in that large wicker chair, legs crossed like she was back in preschool, taking in her friend's extraordinary tale. She had never been the type to faint, which was quite lucky, as she certainly would have by now.

Finally, Elsa reached the end of her story. She turned to Anna, apprehensive of her reaction.

Anna was still as a statue. At the very least, her breathing had returned to normal. Finally, she opened her mouth.

"Oh my god, I'm a terrible friend."

Not what she had been expecting. "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am. I mean, look at what I've been doing. Every decision I've made has made things a million times worse!"

"Anna…"

"I mean, let's start with last night. Not only do I get you drunk – against your better judgment, as you said – but I get even more drunk myself, so there's nobody to make sure you can handle it."

"Anna…"

"Then, the next morning, right after it starts happening, and you need a friend to help you out, what do I do? Run straight to school, not even giving it a second thought. Not at all worried about you, I just assume you'll-"

Elsa placed her hands on Anna's shoulders. "Anna."

Anna stopped talking and looked up at her.

"It's not your fault. It's mine. I should have told you what was going on in the first place. I should have let you in. I'm sorry."

Anna smiled, pulling her into a hug. "Don't worry about it, Elsa. You did what you thought was best at the time. I can't say for sure that I wouldn't have done the same."

Elsa said nothing, just enjoying the warmth of their embrace. It felt so good, after spending the whole day alone with her thoughts, to have someone she could talk to.

After a while, Elsa let go. "So, now what do we do?"

Anna thought about it. "Well, I guess the first thing we do is, try to find out a little more about whatever's happening to you. See if it's ever happened before, right?"

Elsa felt skeptical, but it seemed like as good a place to start as any. "Sounds good."

"Great. I have to go to my house to get some stuff, be right back." Anna raced out the open doorway.

She returned about five minutes later, wearing a thick winter coat and carrying her backpack.

"All right, I'm ready for the long haul," she announced. She reached into her pack and pulled out her laptop and charger.

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "You think we'll find answers on the internet?"

"Well, we won't find them in an encyclopedia, will we?" Anna pointed out. "I'm sure we'll find something useful, even if we have to sort through thousands of pages of crap to do so."

"I guess," Elsa responded. "But it'll take hours. We have school tomorrow."

Anna looked at her like she had just spoken another language. Then she reached into her backpack, mumbling to herself.

"Power of a god, and she's still worried about getting to school. I swear…here!" She said this last part louder, pulling out two pieces of paper as she did so. She handed one of them to Elsa.

It read:

_Dear Principal Taiclet,_

_My daughter Elsa has come down with a severe strain of the common cold. For the sake of her well-being, as well as that of the other students at your school, she will not be able to attend classes for the remainder of this week. I apologize for this inconvenience, and will keep you notified as to whether or not her condition improves._

_Cordially,_

_Norman Glace_

Elsa stared at the signature at the bottom. It was identical to that of her father's, right down to the peculiar way his Gs looped back in on themselves. She looked at Anna, her expression demanding an explanation.

"What?" she said casually. "Your dad's handwriting isn't that unique. My dad can make these things in, like, a couple of seconds."

This only raised further questions. Elsa continued to stare.

Anna sighed. "I told my parents you were going through some tough times and needed my help. Dad whipped these up in a hurry, while my mom put together…" Anna reached into the backpack once again and pulled out a sandwich covered with Saran wrap. "…A BLT sandwich! She didn't have the time to add all her special seasonings, but it should still be pretty good."

Elsa stared at her for a moment. "Okay, then," she said after a while. "I'll…I'll just get my laptop, then." She walked out of the room, the look of surprise still evident on her face.

Anna scratched her head. "You'd think she's never seen a BLT before."

xxxxxxx

_Cryomancy, or the manipulation of ice and snow, is one of the four core elemental powers, along with pyromancy, terramancy, and electromancy. While the other three are very rigidly defined, cryomancy is more fluid, as it involves a wider variety of abilities. As such, most imitators prefer the flashier – and more easily falsified – pyromancy._

_To this date, there have been no confirmed cases of cryomancy, but this is believed to be due to many nations' policies of finding and quarantining such individuals, in the hope of eventually utilizing their abilities to combat geological events, such as volcanoes and climate change._

Anna closed the window without reading another word.

"Well, chalk another one up for 'just making shit up,'" Anna said, mentally crossing another website off her list.

They had been at this for hours, with no credible results. Nothing but hoaxes, conspiracies, and flat-out idiots. Even knowing that Elsa's case was true, after spending this much time searching, it seemed pretty clear that none of these people had any idea what they were talking about.

"Any luck?" she asked, turning to Elsa.

Elsa's head was resting on her keyboard, her eyes closed.

Anna sighed. She reached over and shook her, gently, on the shoulder. "Wake up, Elsa," she said softly.

Elsa's head jerked up. "I wasn't asleep," she said hurriedly. "I was just resting my head."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Then what did I just say?"

"Okay, I fell asleep," Elsa conceded. "Thanks for waking me."

"I think it's time we called it a night anyway," Anna said.

Now Elsa was alert. "No, that's okay, I can keep going."

Anna frowned. "You told me you didn't get enough sleep last night. You really should get as much as you can tonight."

"Don't worry," said Elsa, although she was the one who looked worried. "I can just grab a few cans of Coke and keep going."

"Yeah, or you could just go to bed, sleep, and wake up tomorrow, well rested and ready to continue," Anna said pointedly.

Elsa looked uneasy. "Anna, I really don't want to go to bed," she said quietly.

"Why? Afraid you'll have another nightmare?" Anna asked.

Elsa had never specified what her dream had been about, but she figured it must have been bad from the way she acted when asked about it.

Elsa grabbed this suggestion like a lifeline. "Yes," she said quickly. "The last time I woke up, my bedroom looked like…this," she said, gesturing at the room. "I don't want to wake up in an icebox."

Anna raised her eyebrow again. "So your solution is to…never sleep again?"

Elsa blushed, and Anna felt bad. She realized how terrible it must be to stand where Elsa stood right now, where even a slight change in her emotions could have such drastic consequences. So much pressure.

"You're right, Anna," she said dejectedly. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Well, lucky for you, I do," Anna said brightly.

She reached into her backpack and pulled out her flannel pajamas. "Ever have a bad dream as a kid, so your parents let you sleep in their bed?"

"Yeah," Elsa said slowly.

"I'll put it this way: it doesn't look like the air mattress would fit in here anyway," Anna said, winking.

Elsa was quite taken aback by the suggestion. "You mean…the two of us…should both sleep in the same bed?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "No, Elsa. I mean you in your bed, and me in the garbage cans across the street. Yes, the same bed!"

Then, to Elsa's great surprise, Anna started stripping down to her underwear, right in front of her.

Elsa looked off to the side, trying to think about something else. "Anna, that's kind of weird."

"Are you kidding?" Anna replied, oblivious. "We used to sleep in the same bed all the time, when we were little. Remember all those sleepovers we had?" she asked, putting on her pajamas.

"I wasn't talking about – never mind. I didn't have these powers back then. What if I-"

A horrible thought crept into her mind. "Anna, what if I froze you in my sleep?" she said quietly.

Anna, now in her pajamas, turned Elsa to face her. She grabbed Elsa's left hand with her right, clutching it tightly.

"You feel pretty warm to me," Anna said after a moment. "Was your bed ever frozen over?"

"No, but…"

"Then I'll be fine."

"You don't know that," Elsa said nervously. "God, if something happened to you-"

"If something happens to me, it'll be me hurting myself in order to make sure you're okay." She held up her left hand. "I've done it before, and I'll do it again."

"Anna," Elsa said, trying to think of something to say. Something that would convey her gratitude for being such a good friend, her fear that she might cause her harm, and her guilt for getting Anna involved in all this to begin with.

"You don't have to do this for me," she said eventually.

"Since when did I only do things that I had to do?" Anna replied.

She squeezed Elsa's hands. "Trust me, Elsa," she said, her voice turning serious. "I'm not going to leave your side. I'll never let you go."

Elsa thought that she herself might melt.

"Does that sound good?" Anna asked.

Elsa nodded.

"Great. Now get in your jammies and go to bed," Anna said, her forceful tone betrayed by a sly smile.

xxxxxxx

Anna's watch beeped, notifying her that midnight had come. To her left, Elsa slept, curled slightly into a ball with her back to Anna.

Anna, however, was wide awake. While she tried to avoid tossing and turning for Elsa's sake, her mind was still racing with questions about the amazing things that had gone down just the previous day.

And, of course, it didn't help that, of the two of them, she had to be the calm one. Because whatever she was going through, Elsa must be a thousand times worse. So she had to suppress her feelings and appear calm and collected, which – well, quite frankly, seemed impossible. She had no idea how Elsa did it all the time.

Elsa shifted, and Anna turned to her.

_Penny for your thoughts, Elsa?_

This thought amused her. At this point, she'd pay far more for such a privilege.

Elsa curled up tighter. Anna thought, once again, about how lost Elsa must be feeling. Pity, curiosity, and an overwhelming desire to help practically radiated from her body.

And yet, beneath all that, there was still some primal enjoyment that came from being so close to Elsa.

Anna had only just discovered that she was a lesbian recently, a few short months ago. Of course, she had had confusing feelings for quite some time beforehand, but the tipping point came one day in class, when she had been dozing off.

She had read somewhere that when a person doesn't get enough sleep, their subconscious can leak into their conscious mind, sending up primal thoughts usually confined to dreams. Well, she had been up all night watching a Marvel movie marathon the previous night. She was attempting to make up for this time in first period, and then, a few minutes into a quality nap, a fantasy about Scarlett Johannsson floated to the top of her mind, jerking her awake. She had dwelled on this for the rest of the morning, wondering why she had just had such a dream now, but when she thought about the kind of thoughts she had been thinking in recent days, it didn't even seem out of place. By lunch, she had come to grips with it – she was a lesbian.

Her parents had been extremely understanding when she told them. Other than her father briefly expressing remorse that he would never have any true grandchildren, they took Anna's announcement with remarkably good grace. Anna had assumed they would at least ask a few questions to make sure she was really a lesbian, but no, they trusted her judgment immediately.

Another thing that surprised Anna was how little her lifestyle changed following her realization. She had seen how movies depicted lesbians – tough, masculine, and butch – and indeed, there was a small clique of girls who behaved just so in her school. She had sought them out and asked a few questions, and while she understood why they behaved that way, it wasn't for her. Just because she found women attractive didn't mean she wanted to become more masculine herself. (Then again, she realized later, she already had quite a few interests, like rock climbing, which would have been considered masculine beforehand.) So she still wore miniskirts, kept her hair long, and kept her sunny disposition. She suspected that there were a lot more lesbians like her who simply went unnoticed because, well, how would you even know?

Really, the hardest part of it all had been figuring out her feelings about Elsa.

At first, Anna had tried to deny that she was attracted to her. They were really good friends, nothing more. They had been friends for years, and they would keep on being friends for years to come. The fact that she was smart, funny, and drop dead gorgeous was completely irrelevant. She had told herself this many times over, and yet she couldn't shake the strange feelings she got every time she looked at Elsa. A flurry of confusion, excitement, and apprehension – she had never had a crush on anyone before, but she had heard people tell her what it felt like, and this certainly seemed like one of those cases.

And the strangest part was, it almost seemed like Elsa felt the same way.

Elsa hadn't said anything, and Anna certainly wasn't about to come right out and ask her, but sometimes, when they were all alone, Anna could swear she felt Elsa looking at her in a more-than-friends kind of way. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part, but maybe, just maybe…

Suddenly, Elsa tensed up, crying out in her sleep. Her hands clenched the sheets, and she started shivering – not from the cold, Anna realized, but from fear.

Anna felt like shit. She was supposed to be here to help Elsa, to comfort her, and here she was thinking of ways to seduce her! She was being a terrible, terrible friend.

Elsa started muttering. Anna couldn't make out her words, but she certainly didn't sound happy. Anna's heart throbbed as she imagined what kind of nightmare Elsa must be going through. Around the room, the ice began to thicken, but Anna barely noticed.

Slowly, ever so delicately, she reached out her hand and touched Elsa on the shoulder. Elsa flinched at the sudden contact, but as her hand persisted, Elsa subsided.

Emboldened by this, Anna gently began to turn her over, rolling her so that they were facing one another, Elsa still fast asleep. Once this was done, Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa, drawing her close.

Now that they were this close, Anna could feel Elsa's body shaking all over. She could hear her heart beating, much faster than any sleeping person's should.

"It's all right, Elsa," she breathed into her ear. "I'm here. Everything is going to be fine. I won't let anyone hurt you."

She didn't know if she could even keep this promise, but it had the desired effect. Elsa's breathing began to slow, and her body relaxed. Anna breathed a sigh of relief.

There was nothing sexual about it. Two best friends, one comforting the other. And right now, the knowledge that Elsa was safe and happy in her arms was worth more to her than anything in the world.

Maybe Elsa was a lesbian, maybe she wasn't. But that didn't matter right now. Elsa didn't need a date, what she needed right now was a friend. And that, Anna knew, was something she could do.

The bed stayed warm all through the night.


	5. Chapter 5: Triggers

**Chapter five**

**Triggers**

For one blissful moment, when Elsa woke up the next morning, she was sure that it had all just been a dream.

_It's Tuesday morning. I just had a very, very vivid nightmare, and now it's time for me to go to class._

Then, as she opened her eyes and took in the still-frozen room around her, reality came crashing back in.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," said a voice to her left. Elsa looked and saw Anna, standing beside her bed with a paper bag in her hand.

_Then again, with her in the picture, how could it be a nightmare?_

She smiled. "Morning, Anna."

"Is that what she wants to call it," Anna mumbled. To Elsa, she said, "I just hopped over to my place, and my mom had already made you another sandwich." She handed her the bag.

Elsa reached in and pulled out a barbecue sandwich, tightly wrapped and dripping with hot sauce.

She looked at Anna. "Your family's big on meat, aren't they?"

"Yep," Anna said, grinning. "We're carnivores and proud of it."

"A little much for breakfast, don't you think?"

Anna chuckled. "Well, maybe it's breakfast for you…"

Elsa glanced at the clock.

_12:00 p.m._

"I slept for 12 hours?"

"13, actually. You were asleep before 11 last night."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Elsa demanded.

"In my house, we have a theory. If you sleep for 13 hours, it's because your body needed 13 hours of sleep. I wouldn't want to take that from you."

_Is that why you're always late to school?_ Elsa thought.

Out loud, she said, "Well, now I'm up. Let's get back to searching."

Anna shook her head. "Forget the searching," she said, grabbing Elsa's wrist and pulling her out of bed. "I've got a better idea."

She led Elsa down the stairs, into her basement. As they walked, Anna started talking idly.

"You know, this feels pretty cool. I'm wide awake, and you're still drowsy. It's like I'm the most mentally sound person in a group. Is this how you feel all the time?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Elsa said, yawning.

"See, that's what I'm saying!" Anna said. "When we walk to school, half the time I'm not awake enough to understand a word of what you're saying. Now it's reversed. How cool is that?"

Elsa said nothing. Really, what was there for her to say?

"Anyway, when I woke up, I was going to get a head start on searching, but then I had a better idea." They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Anna turned on the lights. "We're never going to get any answers from the internet, so instead, let's find our own!"

Anna had pushed everything to the walls, save for a few chairs, leaving a wide open space in the center.

Elsa's brain was still a bit foggy from having just woken up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, let's test your powers, and see what you can do ourselves." Anna grabbed her clipboard off a nearby table. "I will be your personal power recorder. Very professional. So, what do you think?"

Elsa bit her lip. "Anna, I appreciate the effort, I really do, but I don't think it works like that."

"Hmm?"

"I'm not like…Jack Frost or anything like that," she explained. "I can't just snap my fingers and make it snow, it just sort of happens when I feel a certain emotion."

"Great!" Anna said. "Then we'll start with that."

"What? How?"

"By manipulating your emotions, silly!" Anna said playfully. "If you can control your emotions, and your emotions can control your powers, then, well, quid pro quo."

"That's not what quid pro quo means," Elsa said.

"You get what I'm saying, though."

"I guess."

"Well, quit guessing and start feeling!" Anna said a little too loudly, pulling Elsa into the room and sitting her down in one of the chairs. "Now, we dive into the mind of Elsa Glace…"

xxxxxxx

Elsa sat in the chair in the center of the room, eyes closed. Anna sat just in front of her, holding her clipboard and pen in a businesslike demeanor.

"Remember," Anna said, "You have to completely immerse yourself in whatever scenario I create. If I tell you that you're standing in a train station, I want you to hear the trains coming and going. If I do this right, this'll feel just like a strong dream."

She really wasn't sure what to do next. Though she had put her best confident face on, she had absolutely no experience with controlling emotions. In her head, it had seemed so simple – make her happy, see what happens, make her angry, see what happens, and so on – but now that she was here, she realized it would be a lot more complicated than that.

Nothing to do now but improvise.

"Okay," she began. "Imagine yourself on the beach. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing through your hair. Everything is perfect, totally peaceful."

She looked at Elsa carefully. Her eyes were still closed, and it looked like she had painted a good mental picture. Elsa had a faint smile on her face, and her breathing was slow and steady. Nothing special seemed to be happening.

_Of course not, doofus. You picked a neutral emotion!_

Anna felt like whacking herself on the head with her own clipboard.

_I can still use this._

"Suddenly…you see a tsunami!" Anna said, thinking fast. "A great big tsunami, coming right for you!"

She half expected Elsa to open her eyes and glare at her. Instead, her body tensed, and she shivered a bit.

_Okay, let's keep going._

"You try to run, but you realize you won't be able to escape fast enough. You know that in a few seconds, it's going to hit you. Fifty feet of rushing water, moving at a hundred miles an hour, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!"

Elsa raised her hands in front of her face and cringed. Around her, three jagged pillars of ice shot up from the ground, one of them mere feet away from Anna.

Anna jumped back in surprise, nearly falling off her chair, and Elsa's eyes opened.

"Are you okay?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Anna responded, gathering her composure. "It just worked a little faster than I expected, that's all."

She picked up her clipboard, which had flown out of her hands, and quickly scribbled down:

_Defensive = Ice pillar_

She looked up at Elsa. "You have a very active imagination, don't you?" she said.

"I guess," she said, looking at the ice pillars with wide eyes.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Anna spoke up. "So…ready to move on?"

"Sure," Elsa said. "But this time, could we try something a little more…positive?"

"Yeah," said Anna. "That sounds like a good idea."

xxxxxxx

"You are sitting at home, in front of your desk," Anna said. "In front of you, on your computer, is the novel you've been working six months on. With a flourish, you type in the last few words and save. You've been working so hard, and now it's done."

Anna knew that Elsa wrote in her spare time. She couldn't stand writing, but Elsa really seemed to get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

"You publish the novel, and it is an instant success! Millions of people flock to stores to buy it all across the country. But even before they do, you know that it's perfect. Every chapter, every page, every last word is pure brilliance. You always knew were this good, and now so does the whole world."

As she finished, she looked at Elsa. She had a smile on her face, but other than that, nothing seemed to be happening.

"Okay, nothing. Don't worry, this was bound to happen eventually. I guess there are some emotions that aren't tied to anything."

Elsa opened her eyes. "No," she said, leaning forward.

Holding her hands out in front of her, she made some twirling gestures. In front of her, another column of ice began to form, but it looked…different.

Elsa thrust her fingers forward, and now the pillar began to take shape. It became a clear cylinder, then turned more complex as patterns and designs began to etch themselves. When Elsa had finished, it was quite beautiful.

She turned to Anna, smiling. "The idea just…came to me."

"Wow," Anna said, staring at the sculpture. "It looks awesome."

Elsa chuckled. "Thanks," she said.

Anna turned back to her clipboard and wrote a new note:

_Self-value =ice (controlled)_

xxxxxxx

"You're sitting in the oval office," Anna started. "You are the President of the United States, the most powerful person in the world. With the wave of your hand, you can have anything you want. People from all over the country – from all over the world, even – know you and revere you. You hold the world in the palm of your hand."

Visually, nothing seemed to be changing, but the air in the room felt like it was crackling with energy. Anna pushed on.

"Whenever you walk into a room, people stand and applaud. When you go a world conference, all the other world leaders look at you with awe and fear. The president of Russia, the leader of North Korea – all of them tremble in your presence. No man or woman on the planet is more loved – or feared – than you. You're the cream of the crop, the best of the best, the one that everyone else wishes they could-"

_CRASH_

Both of them flinched reflexively. The noise had come from outside, just beyond a small window, high up on the wall, that Anna had thrown the blinds closed on. Elsa rushed to it now, opening the blinds. What she saw made her eyes go wide.

A tree in between their yards had fallen over, its roots yanked out of the ground. In the same direction as it had fallen, a fierce wind was blowing. On the wind, there were tiny ice pellets.

Elsa backed away slowly, pulling her arms in tightly.

_Idiot,_ she thought to herself. _Did you really think this would all stay in this tiny little room?_

Anna ran to the window to see for herself. She peered outside, then turned back, chuckling.

"Well, I never really liked that tree anyway," she said nonchalantly. "Always blocking the sun when Mom's trying to…" She trailed off, seeing the concerned look on Elsa's face. "Elsa, are you okay?"

"You don't think anyone saw that, do you?" she asked, voice trembling.

Anna sighed. "Elsa, it's wind," she said. "Wind isn't exclusive to winter, you know."

"That was icy wind, Anna," Elsa said, starting to get irritated at how lightly Anna was treating this. "Not normal. If someone saw it…"

"…Then they'd conclude that a teenage girl with ice powers was standing in this basement, practicing?" Anna finished sarcastically.

"Anna, this is serious!" Elsa said, stamping her foot for emphasis.

It made a strange noise.

Elsa looked down and saw that the floor was now being coated in ice, spreading outwards from where she had stepped. She took another step back, watching the ice slowly creep across the floor.

"Elsa?" said Anna.

Elsa looked at her. "I know, okay? I can see that I'm just making it worse," she said, trying to conceal her fear with anger. "I know this shouldn't be happening, I know that I'm screwing everything up, I know that I just make things worse every time I try to fix something, I know that I'm never going to have a normal life again, I know-"

Anna stepped forward, grabbing her by the shoulders. "For God's sake, Elsa, get a grip!" she shouted, looking her in the eyes.

Elsa stopped midsentence. Slowly, she felt herself recovering from the miasma of fear and anger that had been building inside her. Anna's voice was like a foghorn, pulling her back to reality. Her gaze was a lighthouse cutting through the fog, her hands anchors, securing her to here and now.

Elsa took a deep breath and relaxed. "Sorry, Anna," she said humbly. "I'm being a terrible friend."

"Don't say that," Anna said forcefully. "You're a great friend who's having a terrible week."

"That's no excuse," said Elsa, hanging her head.

Anna lifted her chin, bringing their eyes back into contact. "Now, what kind of shit friend would I be if I only liked you while you were happy?"

"I guess," Elsa said. "I didn't mean to yell at you, things just…"

"Snowballed?" offered Anna.

Elsa laughed. Anna did too, happy to see the smile back on her face.

Then Anna pulled Elsa close, hugging her tightly.

The ice was no longer spreading.

Elsa clutched Anna so hard she thought she might break, abundantly grateful for her help and support. Without Anna, she dreaded to imagine what kind of dark place she might be in right now. Anna was her rock, the only thing keeping her from insanity.

And…

Elsa inhaled through her nose. Anna was wearing perfume.

Just a light one, nothing overt. She smelled faintly of roses. It was quite a lovely smell.

Suddenly, the moment of serenity was shattered, and the reality of the situation began to sink in. She was holding Anna for comfort, yes, but she was also starting to enjoy their embrace on another level. She liked the feeling of Anna's body so close to her, drew pleasure from the touch of Anna's hands on her back. She had never been this close to anyone before.

Now her brain was shouting at her again.

_What are you doing? She came here to help, and now you're feeling her up? She's your best friend!_

_Shut up,_ she thought. _I'm already confused enough as it is._

But her mind wouldn't stop.

_Oh, sure,_ her mind retorted. _Maybe you should sleep with her, see if that clears things up. Maybe you'll get lightning powers from that._

_Shut up, shut up, shut up!_

_Ring ring_

The ring of her cellphone snapped Elsa out of her spiral of confusion. Awkwardly, the two broke apart, and Elsa answered her phone. "Hi."

"Hey, Elsa," came a familiar voice.

"Mom?" she said, all other thoughts racing from her mind.

"Hi, sweetie," came her mother's sweet voice. "How's it going?"

Elsa couldn't reply, her heart and mind racing at equal speeds.

"You there, honey?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Elsa stammered. "Everything's fine here."

She wondered if she had ever told a bigger lie in her life.

"How are you guys?" she asked, voice still shaky.

"We're great, thanks for asking." There was a mild thumping noise, and then she heard her dad's voice. "Hey there, Elsa, how are you?"

"Good, thanks," Elsa said in a shaky voice.

Had it really only been three days since she had last heard her parents' voices? It felt like an eternity. It was almost as if she had abandoned all hope of something as normal as parents in her life.

There was more thumping as her dad handed the phone back to her mom. "So, how was school today?"

"School? Oh, it was all right."

The mere thought that her mom could ask such a simple question brought tears to her eyes.

"Sweetie, you're crying," her mom said. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's fine," Elsa insisted. "Anna and I are just…just watching a sad movie." Her vision was swimming.

"Oh, ok."

"Listen, when are you going to be back?" Elsa asked. "There's something I need to show you guys."

"Well, it's funny you should say that, because that's what we were calling to tell you. We're coming back tomorrow."

This surprised her. "Why?"

"Didn't you see on the news? There's going to be a hurricane sweeping through – in France, no less!" her mom said, incredulously. "Heading north from the Mediterranean Sea – can you believe that?"

"Stranger things have happened."

"Anyway, we'll only be here for one more day. Over here, it's six morning, so we're just staying through the evening. Your father wants to see a play at the Olvans Theater, then we're taking a red-eye back home. We'll be back by Friday morning."

"Ok," said Elsa, processing all this new information. "I-I guess I'll see you then."

"See you, sweetie. Don't stay up too late, you hear? Love you."

"I love you, too."

The phone clicked off.

Anna stood there, taking the entire exchange in. Once she looked around, she realized that there was no longer any ice on the floor. She looked back at Elsa, standing there, cradling the phone in her hand.

She reached out to touch her on the shoulder. "You want to call it a day?" she asked sympathetically.

Elsa turned to look at her. "No," she said abruptly, walking back to the chairs. "Let's keep going."

"Okay," Anna said. She walked back to her own chair, but not before she had written down three new lines on her clipboard.

_Empowerment – icy wind_

_Fear – ice (surfaces)_

_Love – thaw_


	6. Chapter 6: Surrender

**Chapter six**

**Surrender**

Anna stifled a yawn. After many, many hours, her clipboard was all but full. Long lists of emotions, long lists of abilities, and yet they were no closer to any true understanding of what had caused all this in the first place.

She had started the day hoping to find one emotion that would trigger a similar reaction to what Elsa's room had looked like – ice on every surface, coating the entire room – but as the day rolled past, they made almost no progress. The only thing that Anna considered close was Elsa's fear reaction, but it still didn't explain everything.

Now, after going through literally hundreds of emotions, Anna was spending less time testing an emotion than she was spending coming up with a new one. Joy, pride, envy, grief, anger – everything she could think of.

Well, not quite everything.

There was just one emotion that she had come up with early on, yet had delayed testing, even as she ran out of other options. One concept that she was just not willing to test.

Every hour, it seemed she came up with a new reason not to try it. They were friends, so it might seem weird. She'd probably laugh. She'd probably be disgusted. She wouldn't be able to imagine the right scenario. Anna wouldn't interpret the results properly, due to her personal bias.

But deep down, she knew exactly why she didn't want to try it. She was afraid of how Elsa might react if what she thought was wrong – and how she might react if what she thought was right.

If she tried what she was planning, then the one question that Anna had been dying to ask would be answered. And, quite frankly, Anna was afraid to find out. If she was wrong, she risked jeopardizing their friendship. But if she was right…well, she really didn't know what would happen.

Elsa, noticing her silence, leaned forward. "Out of ideas for today?"

"Almost," said Anna, looking pensive.

"If you want, we can just go to bed and get back at it tomorrow," she suggested.

"Wait," said Anna, making up her mind. "There's one last thing I want to try."

"Okay," Elsa said, leaning back again.

"This one may seem kind of weird, but just bear with me."

"I will," promised Elsa, closing her eyes.

"You're standing in a field," Anna began. "All around you, as far as the eye can see, there are tulips and carnations, red and blue."

_My favorites,_ Elsa thought with a smile. She imagined the scene, and just like that, it was as if she was there. She could almost smell the flowers already.

"A light breeze is blowing," Anna's dulcet voice crooned. "It blows through your hair, just strong enough to ruffle it a little."

Again, Elsa imagined it almost perfectly. It was quite amazing how good Anna was at this.

"Standing next to you is your soulmate, the person you love more than anyone else in this world."

An alarm bell started to go off in Elsa's head.

She tried to ignore it, focusing on making her soulmate appear. She imagined a body, but could not give it any distinct features. Whoever she was imagining, she couldn't make out their face.

"The two of you just stand there for the longest time, enjoying the pleasure of each other's company. All around you, a beautiful silence reigns. They reach out their hand, and you take it in your own."

Elsa imagined the hand holding hers, but was it large and masculine, or small and feminine? The ambiguity was driving her crazy.

"You turn to them, a smile on your face. The two of you each take a step forward, and you embrace."

Elsa felt the other body wrap its arms around her, though she still could not identify it. The thought of being so close to someone started to excite her. She was sure that, whatever her emotions were about to do, they'd be doing it soon.

_I just hope Anna gets what she needs before this goes too far._

Still, Anna continued. "You bury your face in their hair, feeling the silky threads' touch around your head."

Her imagination was going crazy. How could she have feelings this vivid when she still couldn't see what her fantasy looked like?

"You take a deep breath through your nose, the aroma of the flowers mixing beautifully with the scent of your partner."

Elsa breathed in. The smell was heavenly, a lovely fragrance of tulips and carnations.

And roses.

Suddenly, the identity of her partner became abundantly clear. The person was a woman. Her hair was red. The hand she was holding had a large red mark down the middle.

Elsa's eyes shot open.

"Anna, I don't feel comfortable with this," she said, standing up.

"Why not?" asked Anna, surprised.

"I just don't. These feelings are a little too private. Surely you can understand that."

That last sentence sounded a little more desperate than she had intended it to.

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Really? A couple hours ago, I made a scenario where you showed up to school naked, and you were just fine with that. We even laughed about it afterwards."

"That was different!" Elsa said, not meaning to shout but doing so anyway.

"Why? How is affection more embarrassing than public nudity?"

"Because you weren't involved in-"

Elsa clapped her hand over her mouth.

_Nice job, moron._

Anna's eyebrows rose in surprise, and her eyes widened. Then, she smiled.

"No, I didn't mean it like that," Elsa stammered.

"Don't worry, Elsa," Anna said. "I understand." She stood up slowly and started walking towards her.

"I mean it, Anna," Elsa said, backing away. "When you started talking about the hair, I pictured yours, and then I saw your face, and the whole thing was just-"

Elsa took another step back, and then she slipped on her own ice.

Anna tried to grab her, but she was too slow. Elsa fell backwards. Her head hit the hard basement floor.

The back of her head erupted into pain. She opened her mouth to scream in pain, but the impact had knocked the wind out of her.

Anna rushed to her side, kneeling down. "Elsa!" she shouted in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Owww," was all Elsa could say.

"I'm so sorry," she stammered. "This is all my fault, I should have known this would happen, why didn't I prepare for this?"

"I'm…okay, Anna," Elsa managed.

"Okay," Anna said, shaking. She swallowed. "Okay," she said again.

Finally, she figured out what she was supposed to do. "Elsa, can you lean your head forward just a bit?"

Elsa leaned her head as far forward as she could.

Anna inspected the back of her head. "Okay, I'm gonna check your head for bruises," she said, still very shaky. "I'll try to be as gentle as possible. Say something if it starts hurting."

Elsa nodded.

"Okay, here I go."

As delicately as humanly possible, Anna felt around Elsa's head. Eventually, her fingers felt a small lump. Anna applied an incredibly small amount of pressure.

"Ow," Elsa said.

"Sorry," said Anna, jerking her hands back.

"How is it?" Elsa mumbled.

"Well, you're not bleeding," she answered. "Just a little bruise. You don't have a concussion or anything."

"Good," groaned Elsa. Slowly, bit by bit, the pain began to subside.

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so sorry, Elsa."

"Don't worry," Elsa mumbled. "Not your fault."

"I think it's time we stopped for today," Anna said. "Can you stand?"

Elsa nodded, but made no moves to try.

Anna reached down. Grabbing her shoulders with both hands, she gently helped Elsa to her feet. "Let's get you into bed," she said. "What you need right now is a soft place to rest your head." She draped Elsa's arm over her shoulders, and helped her start walking towards the door.

"Careful," she warned Elsa. "The ground is still slippery."

_Slippery,_ thought Elsa, still in a daze. _Why is it slippery?_

Then, as her eyes and mind focused, she saw that it wasn't just the floor.

The entire room had been coated in ice. Just like her bedroom.

No concealing it now. She had thought of Anna, and it iced up the room. There was no way Anna hadn't figured it out by now.

_And now we're going to the bedroom._

They reached the stairs, and started to climb.

As much from pain as from fear of what would happen next, Elsa whimpered.

xxxxxxx

_11:30 p.m._

Elsa turned the clock around. Its bright red display was starting to drive her crazy.

Well, it was a factor, at least.

The pain in her head had been reduced to a soft throbbing, but she knew it would come back if she moved her head too much. Right now, just about the only thing she could do comfortably was lie in bed, flat on her back, in her flannel pajamas.

Anna was sitting in the wicker chair by the wall. She had once again promised that she would stay by her side, no matter what. Still, it was obvious how much trouble she was having waiting. She looked like she might explode from all the questions she had.

Elsa felt ready to explode herself. Part of her wanted to tell Anna to just ask her what she wanted to ask, while another part just wanted to delay the inevitable conversation for as long as possible. She knew Anna would be asking questions that she didn't have the answer to herself.

The tension in the air was palpable.

Finally, it seemed Anna could stand it no longer. She stood up from her chair and walked over to the bed.

Elsa realized that she was shaking.

"Hey," said Anna quietly, standing beside the bed. "How's your head?"

"Fine," said Elsa, staring forward.

Even her teeth were chattering.

"Good," Anna responded.

Silence for just a moment.

"Do you mind if I…lie down, too?" Anna asked.

"Free country," Elsa said, trying to keep her voice calm and neutral. She failed.

Anna lay down next to her.

Elsa started shivering even harder.

For a minute or two, they both just lay there, staring up at the ceiling.

The air was frigid, and it wasn't Elsa's fault.

Finally, Anna turned towards her.

_Here it comes._

"Elsa, are you sure you can't remember that dream you had Monday night?"

The question caught her off guard. "What?"

"That dream that you said you had, just before all of this started. Are you positive that you don't remember it?"

"I already said so, didn't I?"

Anna frowned. She grabbed Elsa's shoulder, turning her so that they were face to face.

"Elsa, I promised that I would help you find out what's going on. I told you I would work with you to help understand it. But I can't help you unless you're completely honest with me. Do you understand?"

Elsa nodded.

Anna softened. "I just want what's best for you. Please, let me help you." Her tone was one of desperation.

These words shattered what little of Elsa's resolve was left. She gave up any last thoughts she had of keeping any kind of secret from Anna.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I lied, I do remember it. The dream that I had…it was a wet dream."

Anna nodded solemnly. "About who?"

Elsa tensed up. "It was about you, okay? I had a wet dream about you."

Anna said nothing. Her eyes beckoned for Elsa to go on, and so she did.

"And I know how that sounds, I totally understand what that sounds like, but I'm not a…a lesbian, Anna, I swear I'm not."

"Really?" Anna said thoughtfully. "Because most straight women don't have those kinds of dreams."

"I know, I know," Elsa said miserably. "I'm just…confused, that's all."

Anna appeared to give this some thought. "You do seem pretty confused," she admitted.

Elsa nodded fervently.

Suddenly, Anna got onto her hands and knees, directly above her. "Well, you know how to resolve confusion, right?"

"What?" Elsa asked nervously.

"Experiment."

Then, as Elsa was about to ask what she meant, Anna leaned forward and kissed her, mouth closed, on the lips.

The shock was instantaneous. It was as if every molecule of her body had exploded, all at once. Every last rational thought was instantly blasted from her mind. All her conscious thoughts, her rational objections, all the little voices telling her that this was a bad idea – gone in a flash.

Anna stopped, lifting her head up. "How did that feel?"

"Anna!" Elsa yelled in a shocked voice. "You just…how could you-"

Anna held up her hand to stop her. "Total honesty, how did that feel for you?"

"It…it felt good," she admitted. "But, Anna…we're best friends!"

"Yes," said Anna. "We've been best friends for years, and we'll be best friends until we die. But, if you want…" A mischievous glint appeared in Anna's eye. "We could be something else, too. Something more." She hovered there, just above Elsa, an open invitation.

Inside Elsa's mind, a thousand voices told her that she was crazy, to stop what she was doing right now.

Instead, she reached forward and wrapped her arms around Anna. Clumsily, she leaned her head forward and kissed Anna.

Anna reciprocated immediately, fully embracing the kiss. Her tongue darted forward, tapping at Elsa's closed lips. Elsa opened her mouth, and Anna's tongue rushed forward. Like a completed circuit, Anna's tongue sent electricity coursing through her veins.

After a few minutes of ecstasy, the two separated, Elsa lying back on the bed, Anna still above her. Both of them were breathing heavily.

Anna reached up and undid the buttons on her pajama top. She shrugged out of it, letting it fall, crumpled, onto the floor. She did the same with her pajama pants, stepping slowly out of them and putting them in the same pile.

Anna wasn't wearing anything underneath. And, Elsa realized, neither was she.

Now Anna descended on her, opening each button on her shirt one by one. When she was finished, she removed the shirt with one hand while, with the other, guiding Elsa's body. The shirt slid off. No sooner had it hit the floor that Anna grabbed the waistband of her pants, gently sliding them off as well.

Elsa lay there, fully exposed, shaking in anticipation. Memories of her dream came back again – in this very bed, not two nights ago, she had dreamed of just such an event.

She felt Anna's fingers trace a path down her body, from the base of her neck, across her shoulders, in between her breasts, across her waist, and then…

With a shudder, she remembered how it had felt in her dream – intense, rough, and overwhelming, almost to the point of pain. She braced herself.

Anna noticed this, smiled, and gently slid her fingers inside of Elsa.

The feeling came, but it was much gentler and softer. Anna worked slowly, moving her fingers rhythmically and skillfully, stimulating her without being too rough. Elsa felt only pure pleasure.

Then of course, Anna started moving faster. Elsa moaned as her pleasure rose and rose. Warmth radiated through her, from Anna's fingers through her whole body.

Fear, anger, apprehension, regret – these words held no meaning anymore. The whole world was nothing but ecstasy.

And when, at last, the climax came, it was the greatest feeling that Elsa had ever felt in her life.

xxxxxxx

Anna rolled to one side. Now she was panting, and so was Elsa. Their bodies were soaked with sweat. For some time, they didn't say anything. They just stared at one another, smiling.

Elsa reached over and took Anna's hand. "Thank you," she said.

"Any time," replied Anna, grinning.

Elsa smiled back, even managing a chuckle.

"Was that your first time?" Anna asked.

Elsa nodded. "Yours?"

"Yes. Well, first time with another person, anyway."

It took her a second to understand what Anna meant.

"Oh. Is it any different?"

Anna shrugged. "Not really. I just have to…mirror my hand movements."

Elsa laughed.

Two laughs in just a few seconds' time. That might be a new record.

"So," Anna said, moving closer to her, "How do you feel?"

Elsa thought about it for a moment. "Calm," she said. "Serene."

Anna nodded. "Like everything's right in the world?"

"Something like that," she agreed. "Is that normal?"

"I don't know," said Anna, who was now right next to her. "Let's try again tomorrow, see if it happens again."

For the third time, Elsa laughed. She felt truly blessed to have someone like Anna in her life. Smart, funny, and always there for her.

With Anna beside her, everything was perfect.

Anna wrapped her arms around her. Elsa did the same.

They stayed in that position all night long.


	7. Chapter 7: An Angel's Kiss

**Chapter seven**

**An angel's kiss**

For one horrible moment, when Anna woke up the next morning, she was sure that it had all just been a dream.

_It's Tuesday morning. I just had a very, very vivid dream, and now it's time for me to go to school with Elsa, my very heterosexual friend._

She opened her eyes. She was in Elsa's bed, naked as the day she was born.

_Oh, thank god._

She didn't see Elsa anywhere, but that was hardly odd. Elsa always got up way before her.

What was odd, however, was the fact that the entire room was normal. No ice, no snow, not so much as a puddle.

Then she glanced out the window.

Snow covered the yard, as well as the road beyond it. Everything in sight was blanketed by at least three inches of snow.

It was a beautiful sight.

_I'll bet the weather channel has a fit about this._

She dressed quickly, sure that Elsa wouldn't mind if she borrowed some of her clothes. While Elsa's wardrobe was a bit more conservative than hers, she eventually found a t-shirt and shorts that she was happy with.

She hurried downstairs, eager to see Elsa again.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, she stopped, mouth agape.

Elsa was at the stove, holding a frying pan with four eggs. She turned to Anna, a smile on her face.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she said with a smile.

She was wearing an apron and a wristwatch. Not much else.

Anna was shocked – much more, she realized, than she had been when she discovered Elsa's powers in the first place.

"I see you're wearing some of my clothes," she said.

"I see you aren't," Anna responded.

Elsa laughed. "I saw this in a movie once."

"What movies do you watch?" Anna said incredulously.

Elsa laughed again. It was a lovely sound, her laugh. Anna hoped she'd have the pleasure of hearing it many times over in the coming years.

"So, what do you think?" Elsa asked, turning away from the stove.

For the first time in god knew how long, Anna was speechless.

Then the smell of burning eggs wafted to her nostrils.

She looked at the stove. "You didn't set the burner on high, did you?" she asked accusingly.

Elsa was caught off guard. "Yes, I thought-"

"Oh my god!" she shouted, running to the stove. She used a spatula to analyze the bottom side of the eggs. They had not been completely ruined, but it was right on the borderline. Quickly, she took the skillet off the burner, setting it on a cold one. She turned this one to medium, flicking off the other burner. She picked up a whisk, stirring the singed eggs until the burnt crust was dissipated within the rest of it.

Crisis averted, she turned to Elsa, who had an embarrassed smile on her face.

"You know," she said, "it's a good thing you're smart, funny, beautiful, and just about the best person in the whole world, or we might have a real problem here."

xxxxxxx

Anna managed to salvage the eggs, though in the end, they were just good enough to be scrambled. Considering the torture that Elsa had put them through, Anna considered it quite an accomplishment to even get that much. With a few slices of bacon and two tall glasses of orange juice, she crafted a well-balanced breakfast.

Regrettably, Elsa got dressed while she was fixing things up, but everyone has to make sacrifices now and then. Besides, even in a blue t-shirt and shorts, she was still the most gorgeous woman alive.

So they sat down and had breakfast together, an experience Anna wasn't all too familiar with. It was rather nice, just eating a simple little meal while you wait for the world to wake up around you.

"So I saw the snow outside," said Anna, casually taking a sip of her juice.

"How did it look?" Elsa asked.

"Pretty nice," Anna said. "So you did do that on purpose, then?"

Elsa giggled, another thing Anna had rarely heard her do. "I thought to myself, 'why should we be the only ones to get out of school?'"

"I thought you said you couldn't just do that."

"Yesterday, I couldn't," Elsa explained. "I also couldn't do this." She snapped her fingers, and a ball of snow appeared, hovering on the table in front of her.

"Wow," Anna said, impressed. "So you can control all that stuff now?"

"I guess," she said, smiling contentedly.

"Do you think it was because we…" Anna started.

Elsa nodded. "I can't think of anything else that would explain it."

"So, is this a permanent thing, or will we have to keep doing it?"

Anna felt stupid as soon as she asked. _As if she would know._

But Elsa just smiled at her. "Couldn't hurt."

Anna burst out laughing. Elsa chuckled as well.

It was like somebody had replaced all the oxygen in the world with laughing gas. Anna couldn't have frowned if she tried.

"So, anyway," she said after a while. "How much control do you think you have over this?"

Elsa gave her a devilish smile. "Want me to show you?"

It was almost scary, seeing that look on Elsa. Anna nodded.

"I'll show you in the basement," Elsa said. "But first, could you run back to your house and grab your skates?"

"Roller?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow.

Anna slapped herself on the head. "Right."

xxxxxxx

"It's official," said Anna, walking through the front door, holding her ice skates. "My mom's curious about what we're doing."

"I figured," Elsa said, heading towards the basement. "Do you think we can trust her?"

"Are you kidding? You could show up on her doorstep with a dead body, and she'd reach for shovel."

"That's…pretty dark," Elsa said.

"You get what I mean, though," Anna said. "Why, do you think we might want to tell her?"

"Well, we'll have to tell somebody eventually," Elsa said.

They reached the bottom of the stairs. Elsa turned on the light.

The basement looked pretty much as they had left it, except the chairs had also been moved to the side. Now it was nothing but an open space.

"I practiced for a bit when I first got up," she said.

Anna looked around. "Cleaned up pretty nice, then."

Elsa smiled again. "So, you want to see some magic?"

Anna grinned back. "Elsa, it would be my greatest pleasure."

Elsa started walking forward, slowly making her way to the center of the room. When she got there, she stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath in. Then she lifted her right foot and stomped it down on the ground.

Instantly, ice shot outwards from her foot, spreading over the ground in a second. When it reached the walls, it continued, shooting straight up and coating the ceiling, too. Within seconds, the entire room was covered in ice.

But Elsa wasn't done yet. Next, she raised her arms up in front of her, and half a dozen icy pillars rose out of the floor. She gestured with her fingers, and the pillars shifted and changed into archways and ramps.

Anna watched in awe as the arena materialized before her eyes. She had never seen anything more beautiful than what was unfolding in front of her.

Elsa completed her work, dropping her arms. She turned to Anna, breath turning white against the air. "So, what do you think?" she asked.

Anna turned to her. "I'm running out of ways to say 'That's fucking amazing,' so I'll just shut up and skate." With that, she pulled off her shoes and started to put on the skates.

Elsa chuckled. She waited patiently for Anna to lace up her skates, twirling around a strand of her hair absentmindedly.

Finally, Anna was ready. She took a few ginger steps forward, then started increasing her stride. Then she started to skate, gliding from one foot to the other with ease.

Elsa had been big into skating when they were younger, which meant that Anna had done her fair share of it, too. She had gotten pretty good, but that was quite a few years ago.

But now, all her old skills came rushing back to her. She started picking up speed, rounding a corner and feeling the satisfying scrape of the ice underneath her skates. She almost lost her balance as she came to a stop, but quickly recovered.

She neared a gentle ramp that Elsa had set up, nothing too extravagant. She picked up speed again, shooting off the ramp.

But when she landed, her skates failed to grab the ice. She tried to step forward, but her momentum wouldn't be denied, and she slipped, falling forward. She braced herself as her head raced towards the cold, hard…

_Thump_

…snow.

Anna looked up from the mound of snow that had caught her and saw Elsa, standing there with her arms outstretched.

"Nice save," she said, picking herself up.

"My pleasure," said Elsa.

"You think we can start a little smaller?" Anna suggested.

Elsa looked at the room. The ramps sank downwards, becoming gentler and shorter, and mounds of snow appeared along the walls.

"How does this look?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, this seems about right." Anna looked at Elsa's bare feet. "Aren't you going to join?"

She chuckled, lifting one foot off the ground. A mass of ice appeared around it, shaping itself into an ice skate. Her other foot quickly followed suit.

Anna stared. "Wow, that's fucking ama- ah, you know the drill."

xxxxxxx

Elsa slumped down on the couch, exhausted. She hadn't thought it possible to tire yourself out before noon, but an hour of skating with your best friend, it seemed, would do just that. She lifted her feet off the ground, wincing slightly.

Anna followed close behind her. "All I'm saying is, for a first try at making ice skates, they looked pretty nice."

"Looked, yeah," Elsa said, inspecting the red marks running along her feet. "Felt, not so much."

She laid down on the couch, her feet hanging off the side. Anna started massaging them.

"Don't worry, you'll get better at it," Anna said reassuringly.

"I hope so," said Elsa.

Anna's ministrations were doing wonders for her feet. Elsa grabbed the TV remote. "What do you want to watch?"

"Weather channel," Anna said. "I want to know more about this hurricane you told me about."

"Good thinking," Elsa said, flicking through the channels.

The local update was just ending. In a few minutes, the hurricane came up.

_"__Strange in name, strange in nature, this hurricane season starts off with Hurricane Ansbach. Uniquely, Ansbach formed in the Mediterranean Sea, where it quickly strengthened into a category 5. Ansbach is expected to make landfall some time tomorrow as it strikes northern Italy, then moves west through France. Most projections say that it will weaken to a category 3 by the time it hits any major cities; nevertheless, heavy damage is expected, as most European cities are ill-equipped to deal with wind and rain damage on this order of magnitude."_

The two girls stared at the TV attentively. Eventually, Anna turned to Elsa.

"Do you think you could do anything like that?" she asked.

"What, a hurricane?" Elsa replied. "I doubt it."

"Too complex?"

"I guess," Elsa said. "But mostly it has to do with temperature. If you want to have, like, a tornado, or a hurricane, or anything else that spins, you need warm temperature winds. I couldn't do that.

"Besides, I wouldn't want to. Hurricanes kill people, hundreds of them."

"Okay, then," Anna said.

After a while, she spoke up again. "So could you stop a hurricane?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, if there was a hurricane coming towards you, could you make it…collapse or something?"

Elsa thought about it. "Maybe, I guess. I hadn't really thought about it."

Suddenly, the TV screen flashed yellow.

_Breaking News_

The two turned back to the screen.

_"__Tragedy struck the small town of Pujol, France today. The Olvans Theater, renowned throughout France for its high production values and award-winning cast, has undergone a partial collapse."_

Elsa sat straight up. "What?"

_"__The disaster occurred when an aged support beam fell into the audience during a production of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. Shortly thereafter, parts of the roof began to crumble as well. 4 fatalities have been confirmed, with over 80 injured."_

Elsa's heart stopped. _No._

_"__The injured are being taken to St. Christine's, a nearby hospital, to receive treatment. It is unknown, however, whether or not they will be able to be evacuated in time to avoid Hurricane Ansbach."_

_No, no, no, no, no._

Anna turned to her, eyes wide. "Elsa-"

Elsa dashed to her cell phone, not even noticing the ice appearing at her feet. She quickly dialed her mom's phone number and waited.

One ring.

_Please be all right._

Two rings.

_Please be all right._

Three rings.

_Please._

Four rings.

Finally, the phone picked up.

"Mom? Mom? Are you okay?"

"Hello?" A male voice came through the phone, one Elsa didn't recognize.

"Who are you? Where are my parents?"

"Calm down, calm down," came the voice. "Your parents are just fine. I'm an EMT worker. Right now, your parents are in the back of an ambulance. They have sustained minor injuries, a few broken bones from the looks of it, but nothing major. We're taking them to St. Christine's."

"But what about the hurricane?" Elsa asked.

There was no reply.

"How are you going to evacuate them?"

"…Don't worry about it, child," came the voice. He didn't sound too confident. "Everything is going to be all right."

Elsa stood there, silent, still holding the phone.

"Are you still there?" said the EMT worker.

She hung up.

She felt empty, as if someone had just stabbed a hole in her and drained her of all of her happiness. Her entire life had just been sucked into a black vortex.

"Mom," she said faintly. "Dad."

Anna slowly walked towards her. "Elsa?"

That one word broke the spell. Elsa hung her head and cried.

Anna ran to her, grabbing her in a hug. She started crying too.

The sun was black. The birds were silent. The world was inside out.

And so they just stood there, crying in each other's arms.

_What am I going to do?_


	8. Chapter 8: Departure

Chapter eight

Departure

They say that when two people are close enough together, their minds begin to work in tandem. When an idea strikes one, the other knows it without even being told. Almost like a psychic connection.

Now, Elsa and Anna had known each other for more than ten years, and they could hardly be called 'in sync' on anything. Elsa had learned to follow Anna's thought processes, as her big ideas were usually preceded by a mischievous grin and followed by disaster, but this was still strictly reactionary.

Nevertheless, as they stood there, embracing each other in the living room, both girls came up with the exact same idea at the exact same time.

They broke from their hug, as if the force of the idea entering their minds had physically pushed them apart.

Anna shouted, "You could stop it!"

At the same moment, Elsa shouted, "I could stop it!"

Anna was quite surprised. She didn't expect Elsa to be so onboard already. "You really think you can do it?"

"I…I think so," Elsa said.

"You think so?"

"I'm not sure, okay? I don't really know my limits yet, or if I even have limits. Based on what I know, I feel pretty confident that I can do it. And even if I can't, I'll damn sure try."

"Okay," Anna said, turning away from her. "So, the next question is, how do we to get to France before it-"

"We?" Elsa said.

Anna turned back, a look of determination in her eye. "Yes, we," she said firmly.

"Anna, you can't come. It'll be too dangerous."

"Bullshit!" Anna shot back. "It'll be more dangerous if I don't come."

"What do you mean?" Elsa asked, bewildered.

"You, Elsa! Your powers are connected to your emotions. If you go alone, your powers could go crazy!"

"That was before," Elsa said, reddening. "I have better control on them now."

Anna raised an eyebrow. She gestured at the floor, which had just been blanketed with a sheet of ice.

"I didn't say perfect," Elsa insisted. "Look, you aren't coming, all right? This conversation is over."

"Oh, it's over, all right," Anna said, anger rising. "You couldn't drag me away from this, even with an avalanche!"

Elsa's eyes narrowed. "You want to test that?" she said, voice dripping with anger.

Anna was shocked. Never in her life had she heard Elsa say something so downright venomous. She took a step back, so great was her surprise.

Seeing how hurt Anna had been by her remark, Elsa's harsh tone melted. "I'm sorry," she said with genuine reticence. "I didn't mean to go that far."

Anna wasn't about to let her off the hook that easily. "Why would you even say something like that?"

"I…I…"

Anna silenced her. "Elsa, the last time you tried hiding your emotions from me like this, I ended up with a red hand. Do you really want to try that again?"

Elsa sighed. Anna knew just how to break her.

"Anna, it'll be dangerous. Too dangerous for you. If I can't stop the hurricane…I don't want to lose all three of the most important people in my life at once."

Anna, it seemed, was not moved. "So what, I just stay at home and hope you pull it off, like an old medieval wife watching her husband go to battle?"

"Anna…"

"What, do you think I'm just doing this out of bravado? I don't want anything bad to happen to you, either. I'm just as determined to keep you safe as you are me. Maybe I can't shoot ice out of my hands, but that doesn't mean I'm powerless to help you."

Elsa sighed. "You're not going to budge on this, are you?" she said in a resigned voice.

"Not now, not ever," Anna replied, arms folded. "If I was the budging type, you'd still be hiding in your room, trying to figure things out by yourself. So you'd better believe I'm not going to budge."

Elsa could think of no more arguments to raise against her. Anna was a rock.

"Just promise me you'll stay safe," Elsa pleaded.

Anna looked her in the eyes. "Okay," she said.

The truth was, Anna was just as scared as Elsa. But she knew she had to go with her, and deep down, Elsa knew it too. There was simply no other way.

For a short second, silence reigned as they looked into each other's eyes. Then Anna broke the silence.

"Now we need to figure out how we're going to get to France. I'll have to ask my parents," she said, turning to the door.

"Okay," Elsa said, following her.

They hadn't even made it halfway to the door before it opened from the other side, and Anna's parents hurried in.

Jenna entered first, turning to Elsa. "Elsa, your parents…" she began.

"I know," Elsa replied.

Arthur rushed in just behind her. "We've booked a flight to Paris. Pujol is just a two-hour drive from there."

"We're coming with you," Elsa and Anna said simultaneously.

"That's why I said 'we,'" Arthur replied. "6:30, red-eye flight, pack a suitcase, the both of you."

Jenna looked around the room. "Where did all this ice come from?"

Anna looked at Elsa. She nodded her head.

Anna turned back to her parents. "Mom, dad, there's something you should know about Elsa…"

xxxxxxx

The next few hours flew by in a flash for Elsa. One minute she was standing in front of Anna's parents, both of them listening intently. Then she was packing a suitcase. Then she was in the back of Arthur's car, speeding down the highway at what was certainly not the speed limit. Then she was at an airport, eating a hastily assembled sandwich out of a plastic baggie.

Now, on flight F-930, time seemed to slow to a halt. Fear and anxiety faded to the background, and a deep undercurrent of dread crept in. While Anna amused herself with the TV screen built into the back of the seat in front of her, Elsa worried endlessly about the coming hours. She ran over her plan a hundred times in her head, memorized every letter of the paper Anna had written on the previous day, and tried to prevent the thought of what would happen if she failed from entering her mind.

Finally, five hours after the plane's departure, Elsa slumped her head back on the seat. There was nothing else she could think to do except wait for them to reach their destination.

That, and try to keep her own imagination at bay.

Now, the same voice in her head that she thought she had silenced for good was back to torment her further.

With every second that passes, that hurricane gets closer to your parents. So nice of Anna's folks to book a flight that's almost certainly too late for you to do anything.

Elsa shuddered, trying to push the voice from her mind.

"Feeling all right, Elsa?" Jenna asked.

Elsa was surprised. Anna and Arthur were both sound asleep, and she had just assumed Jenna would be, too.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Elsa said unconvincingly.

"It's okay if you're scared," she said reassuringly. "In this situation, you'd have to be crazy not to be."

"I know," Elsa said. "It's not that I'm scared – at least not all of it. It's just...why did this have to happen to me?"

Elsa could see Jenna thinking very carefully about how to phrase her next question.

"And no, I don't mean my powers, before you ask," she said.

"I thought as much," Jenna said. "You seem like you've come to grips with that by now."

Anna's parents had taken the news about Elsa amazingly well. They had asked a few questions, but overall they barely even seemed nonplussed. When asked about this attitude, Jenna had shrugged. "It's a strange, amazing world we live in," she had said. "After 53 short years, it would be the height of hubris to assume I know what is and isn't possible."

Now Jenna moved in to hug Elsa reassuringly. "Your parents, then."

Elsa accepted the hug gladly. "Why did this have to happen to me?" She kept her voice low, so as not to wake the other passengers. Even so, there was no mistaking the emotion in her voice. "Why did this happen now, right when I needed them the most? Does the world just want me to suffer?"

Jenna stroked her hair in a motherly way. "It can seem like that sometimes, can't it?"

Elsa pulled away from her, dabbing her eyes. "Did you ever lose someone like that?"

She nodded sadly. "My three sisters."

Elsa was taken aback. "Three?"

"When I was growing up, my family couldn't afford to vaccinate. I was the only one of the four of us who survived the measles."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

Jenna gestured to Arthur. "He had an older brother who enlisted in the army as soon as he was able. During training, a live grenade went off in his face. He lived just enough to say his goodbyes to his family."

Elsa's eyes were wide. "That's terrible," she said.

"That's life," Jenna responded.

"You see, Elsa, tragedy does not happen to you, or to me, or to any one person. Tragedy is happening to all of us, all the time. All we can do is enjoy the time we've been given, and spend it with the people we love."

Jenna gestured to Anna, then looked back at Elsa. "And it seems you've been doing just that."

She had the same mischievous look in her eyes that Elsa had seen in Anna's so many times.

Elsa opened her mouth to explain.

Jenna silenced her with a gesture. "Don't worry, I can keep a secret," she said, winking.

Suddenly, the screens on the seat backs lit up. A faint tone sounded, and a message appeared:

Attention passengers: we will be diverting from our flight path momentarily to avoid a storm. Expect an arrival delay of up to 1 hour.

Elsa stared at the message in disbelief. "They can't do that, can they?"

Jenna nodded. "It happens all the time," she said sadly. "Weather is unpredictable like that.

1 hour? We're already cutting it close as it is. We can't afford to lose this time.

Then we won't.

She stood up. "Be right back," she said to Jenna as she strode towards the front of the plane.

As she passed through first class, a flight attendant walked up to her. Elsa silenced her with a glare.

She parted the curtain into the cockpit and walked in, where she saw the pilot and copilot. At the sound of her entry, they both turned to look at her. The pilot immediately gestured for the copilot to look back outside, which he did hastily.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" the pilot asked with a gruff British accent.

"Why are you changing course?" Elsa asked, her tone just short of accusatory.

"We have to," the copilot said. "Can't fly through that storm." He gestured directly ahead. On the horizon, a sea of dark clouds greeted them.

"That storm?" Elsa asked.

The pilot nodded. "Sorry, love. Too much turbulence for a commercial flight."

Elsa concentrated on the clouds, closing her eyes.

Empowerment = icy wind

Quickly, she conjured up a scenario.

I am strong. Stronger than any storm or hurricane out there. I hold more power than any force of nature that has ever existed.

The pilots looked at her funnily.

This room, this plane – they can't possibly hope to contain even a small fraction of my power. I am an unstoppable force of nature. Anything in my way will be obliterated.

Like this storm.

Now the pilots stared straight ahead, hardly believing their eyes.

The storm clouds parted in front of them like the Red Sea. Powerful gusts pushed the clouds back and away from the plane, carving them into two much smaller cloudbanks.

Elsa opened her eyes. "How about now? Could you fly through that?"

The two pilots said nothing. After a while, the pilot nodded.

"Great," she said, walking out of the cockpit. "Oh, and fly safe. These all-night flights can really mess with your head." And with that, she was gone.

After a few seconds, the copilot turned to the pilot. "You don't think…"

"No, and neither do you. Eyes on the sky, Roger."

"Copy that."

xxxxxxx

Jenna was waiting for her. "How did it go?" she asked as Elsa sat down.

Before she could answer, the screens lit up again.

Please disregard our previous message. We will be arriving in Paris on time.

"Nice job," she said, smiling widely.

"Thanks," Elsa said. She yawned. "I think I'm going to get some sleep."

"Good idea," Jenna said.

Within five minutes, Elsa was snoring soundly.

Yes, rest, little Elsa, Jenna thought. You'll need it for tomorrow.

God knows what's in store for us tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9: Driven

**Chapter nine**

**Driven**

The skies were clear when they landed in Paris – good thing, too, or else they wouldn't have been able to land at all.

Security was lighter than in American airports; even so, it was impressive how fast Anna's parents moved them through customs. They seemed to have a knack for finding all the shortest lines, and the fastest moving ones. Ten minutes after the plane hit the tarmac, they were already in a rental car, pulling out of the airport. 100 miles to Pujol.

20 miles out, the sky started getting cloudy. 40 miles out, and it started to rain. With every mile they drove, the rain came down harder, the wind blew faster.

Finally, at the halfway point, Elsa's nerves got the better of her. "Is this an outer band of the hurricane?" she wondered aloud.

"This?" Arthur said, gesturing outside. "This is just the appetizer, before the real storm comes."

"Don't worry," Anna assured her. "Hospitals can handle a little rain. They'll be fine until we get there."

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Elsa almost jumped out of her skin, and a cluster of ice crystals shot out from her clenched fist.

"Easy, Elsa," Anna said, putting her hand on her shoulder calmingly. "We don't need this car to become an icebox."

"I know, sorry," she said.

Elsa spent the rest of the ride trying not to freak out, so, naturally, she was a nervous wreck in a matter of minutes.

Jenna, meanwhile, was spending her time a little more productively.

"St. Christine's is on the east side of Pujol," she said, glancing up from her iPhone. "That means we'll drive through most of the town before we reach it. Also, it's the first place in town that Ansbach will hit. If you can stop it there, Elsa, the entire town should be just fine. It's built into a hill, so there's no risk of flooding, but it's also high enough up that there will be a risk of-"

Another clap of thunder finished her sentence for her.

Elsa leaned forward. "And…what do we do if I can't stop it?"

Jenna turned around to look at her. "The same thing we were planning to do from the start: batten down the hatches and weather the storm out with your parents."

"That was your plan?" Elsa said incredulously.

"Not my best, I know…" Jenna began.

"She is too impulsive," Arthur said from the driver's side. "I tell her this a hundred times."

"And yet you always go along with my plans, and things work out all right," she countered.

"Oh, forgotten about last year's anniversary already, have we?"

Jenna sighed. "How long are you going to keep holding that one over my head?"

"We ended up in a river, Jenny. My brand new Hatchback, straight into a river. I think I deserve to hold that one over your head for just a little while."

They kept at it like this, bantering back and forth. To Elsa's surprise, she realized that they actually seemed to be enjoying it.

"Oh, yeah," said Anna when she broached the issue. "They do this all the time. They say it helps with stress."

"Really?"

"Of course. If you spend that much time with someone – with anyone – you're going to get into some fights. Just stick to the small ones, and you'll have a much better time."

Elsa looked at Anna's parents. Despite their argument, they were both smiling. Even as they bickered, they were still enjoying each other's company.

She looked over at Elsa. _Maybe we'll be like that one day._

The thought caught her very much off guard. Over the past few days, things had been moving so fast that she hadn't had the chance to stop and think about where they might be going. But it was a serious question: Where did she see her and Anna going in the next few years?

Hell, where was she herself going in the next few years? She could hardly keep her powers a secret forever. What was she going to do? Put on a cape and tights and fight crime? Turn the Sahara desert into an ice rink? What was going to happen to her?

A sign came up on the right of the car:

_Pujol 5 km_

"Almost there," Jenna said. "Get ready, girls."

Elsa banished the thoughts from her mind. _Focus on the present before you start planning for the future._

"Are you ready, Elsa?" Anna asked.

Elsa took her hand. "I sure hope so."

xxxxxxx

The town was deserted. Howling wind and pouring rain were their only company as the rental car drove through the rain-slicked streets.

"Where are the reporters?" Elsa asked. "Aren't there usually some guys in ponchos talking about the storm?"

"All gone," Arthur said, a hint of laughter in his voice. "By now, their private planes are already halfway to their beach houses in Cancun." He shrugged. "It's not a bad way to make a living. Stand in the rain for 10 minutes telling people how wind works, then run away as soon as the actual hurricane gets close."

"Look, there's the hospital," Anna said, pointing to a nearby hilltop.

The white building sat atop the highest hill in town. Almost like a beacon to the rest of the city.

Jenna consulted her phone again. "The first serious storm band should hit here in about ten minutes," she said, almost having to yell over the sound of the rain pummeling the car.

"Then what do you call this?" Elsa yelled back, gesturing around them.

"An appetizer!" Arthur declared.

The tires squealed as Arthur rounded a sharp turn at about 40 miles an hour. Elsa felt the car lift up on one side, almost tipping over.

"Are you trying to get us killed, you crazy man?" Jenna screamed.

"You said ten minutes, I'll get you there in ten minutes!" he shouted back.

"How is this different from the time we ended up in the river?"

"This car's a rental!"

Elsa gripped the seat with white knuckles.

"Are you going to be okay?" Anna asked her.

"That depends on whether or not your dad kills us!" she replied.

"Don't worry, he knows what he's doing," Anna assured her.

"Are you sure?"

"You know, you are the most nervous ice goddess I have ever met," Anna said.

"And you are the craziest…normal people…that I've ever met!" Elsa retorted.

Anna laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Somehow, they managed to get through the town in one piece. They started to climb the hill, Arthur muttering something in Russian every time the tires squealed. Elsa tried to calm herself by going over what she had to do in her head.

_Shield the hospital, block the wind, and freeze the rain. Shield the hospital, block the wind, and freeze the rain._

It sounded almost laughably simple in her head. Of course, the wind in this case was around 100 miles per hour, and one slipup meant the death of everyone she loved, not to mention herself. No biggie.

The car crested the hill at 50 miles per hour, jumping at least a foot in the air. Arthur slammed his foot on the brake, yanked on the handbrake, and twisted the wheel 180 degrees. The car spun two full revolutions before coming to a halt, tires squealing like a pig.

The four jumped out of the car, running to the hospital. Elsa made for the door, but Jenna stopped her.

"We'll make sure they're okay. You just do whatever it is you need to do out here. Got it?"

"Promise me you won't let anything happen to them," Elsa begged.

"I'll do whatever I can," she said. "The rest is on you."

She smiled. "You can do this," she said. She and Arthur ran into the building.

Elsa turned to Anna. "I won't ask you to stay out here with me."

"Good," Anna said. "I can only say 'I'm with you for the long run' so many times."

Elsa nodded. "Right."

She turned to the task at hand. _First thing, shield the hospital._

She reached her fingers down, and a ring of ice appeared around the entire building. She slowly raised her arms, and the ice started to rise, a crystal-clear barrier.

As the ice rose, it shifted and formed in cones, a design that Elsa had studied for a project long ago to best deflect the wind. Six circular columns, with sharp half-domes in between, which shifted into spirals and minarets as the structure grew upwards.

Anna's mouth was wide by the time her creation had closed over the roof. It was quite a beautiful thing, unique and symmetrical. Elsa could only hope it would be enough.

Anna tapped her on the shoulder. "Lightning," she reminded.

"Right," she said quickly. She stomped her foot on the ground, which was now coated with ice.

Four pillars of ice shot up, surrounding the new fortress and easily growing to twice its height.

"Not bad," Anna said.

A clap of thunder from the other side of the hospital grabbed their attention. Elsa dashed around the building, with Anna close behind.

She stopped and stared.

The hurricane was unlike any storm Elsa had ever seen before. Thick black clouds swirled and twisted as if contorted by some dark sorcerer, and lightning spiraled out in all directions. Trees were uprooted, thrown down into pools of water three feet deep.

Elsa was frozen in place, in awe of the spectacle unfolding in front of her.

Anna nudged her. "You can take it, no problem."

The amount of confidence in her voice was ludicrous. Nevertheless, Elsa was grateful for her support.

"Elsa, there's something I have to tell you," she said, voice unsteady.

Elsa looked into her eyes. They were trembling.

"Tell me when this is over," Elsa said. "That's when I'll need it."

Anna grinned. "That's the confidence I want to hear, ice queen! Let's do this!"

Elsa turned back to the storm. It didn't look quite as bad as it had the first time. She readied herself, drawing from her inner strength.

_Time for destruction, Ansbach. Mine, or yours._


	10. Chapter 10: Unstoppable

**Chapter ten**

**Unstoppable**

Elsa twirled her fingers, and a blast of ice shot from her hand. She pointed it at the approaching storm band, driving as much power into the shot as she could muster. The shot flew straight into a thick cloud. Upon impact, the mass of ice splintered, spreading in multiple directions through the cloud.

She curved the fingers of her other hand, sending the ice in different directions through the thick clouds. Like a seamstress, she weaved her ice into a sort of web, its light blue coloration stark against the nearly pitch black clouds of Ansbach.

Elsa was in total control, guiding the ice as it branched through the cloud. Tracks of light blue rippled through the clouds, dividing and rejoining. To Anna, it looked like the very sky was cracking, torn apart by Elsa's powers.

Ansbach grew closer, but Elsa stood her ground, forcing her ice deeper and deeper into the storm clouds. Already, a huge section of the hurricane was within her grip, and still her frigid tendrils spread ever further.

At the center of her web, the clouds were changing. Faced with a sudden drop in temperature, they began to condense en masse, then freeze completely. Chunks of ice plummeted from the sky, no longer able to remain airborne.

"Elsa?" Anna said nervously as she watched these massive clusters of ice fall towards them.

But Elsa was ready. She thrust her hand forward, and a sharp gust of wind blew from behind. The ice chunks were sent away from them, falling harmlessly into the empty valley before them.

She grinned. _You're mine._

A sudden gust slammed into them, and Elsa staggered backwards, nearly falling over.

"Elsa!" Anna cried.

"I'm fine," she yelled over the wind. "Get low to the ground!"

Cursing herself for losing focus, she regained her ground and redoubled her efforts. She raised several tendrils of ice from the ground and wrapped them around her body, a sort of frame to stabilize herself. She thoroughly encased her legs and torso in the ice, then turned her focus back to the storm.

Now the winds were picking up near them, blowing in from the left. Elsa held steady and pushed back, sending a powerful gust straight back. Another gust slammed into her, but this time she was prepared for it, not backing down an inch.

Her work was having a clear effect on the storm. The thick clouds, which had been steadily spiraling towards them, were now starting to slow. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, and even some of the thickest clouds were beginning to disperse.

Adrenaline and confidence fueled Elsa's powers as she cut deeper into Ansbach. Any fears she might have once had were now far away. At this moment, she felt invincible. No force on the planet could stop her.

Then, a bolt of lightning shot down, so close that she had to cover her ears for the thunderclap, and struck the pillar to her left.

Moments after the thunder came an even louder sound – the sound of ice shattering.

Elsa looked at the pillar, and fear found her once again.

The pillar had shattered at its midpoint, and the top half was starting to tip over. No longer supported, it was at the mercy of the wind.

And the wind was blowing right in her direction.

And here she was, frozen in place by a cage of her own design.

She turned to Anna. "Run."

"Elsa, I'm not leaving-"

"NOW!" she shouted, blasting a gust of wind at her. Anna started running.

Elsa turned back to the collapsing ice column. Frantically, she tried to melt the ice she had encased herself in, but it wouldn't budge. With no other options, she began forming a wall of ice in front of her.

No longer able to see her impending doom, she thickened the ice as fast as she could, channeling her panic.

For the last time, the little voice inside her head spoke up again.

_It won't be enough. You can't stop this._

She tried to ignore it, focusing every fiber of her being into the wall.

_You failed, and now you and Anna will die because of it._

"No," she said in a tiny voice. The wind swallowed her protest.

_You are going to die, Elsa. And there isn't anything you can do about it._

Then there was a crash.

Then there was darkness.

xxxxxxx

As soon as she heard the impact, Anna threw herself to the ground, covering the back of her head with her hands. All around her, she heard smaller crashes as bits of ice fell to the ground around her.

_Please, please be safe, Elsa,_ she thought. _Please tell me you stopped it before it hit you._

As soon as she was sure the shrapnel had stopped falling, Anna stood up and turned around, running towards Elsa. It didn't look good.

Elsa was lying on the ground, eyes closed. She had pieces of ice lodged in her arms, and many cuts on her face. Mere feet away from her head, the shattered remains of the pillar lay on the ground.

Anna dropped to her knees, reaching out for her.

"Come on, Elsa, wake up," she said desperately, shaking her by the shoulders.

Elsa remained motionless. Anna felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Goddammit, Elsa, you can't do this to me!" she shouted. "Stop playing around and wake up!"

She tried to feel for a pulse, but with the noise of the wind and rain, she couldn't tell if she felt anything.

"Get up, dammit!" Anna felt a surge of anger. She slapped Elsa on the face, a little harder than she intended.

Elsa released a low moan.

"Oh, thank god," Anna said.

She looked at Elsa's arm. A huge, jagged shard of ice was sticking out of her forearm.

"Jesus, that looks bad," she said. She turned to Elsa, who was still barely responsive.

"Okay, Elsa, I'm going to get this thing out of you. This'll probably hurt like a bitch, but I've gotta do it. Ready?"

Elsa made no reply.

"Sorry about this." She grabbed the shard, taking care not to jam it any deeper. "One…two…"

xxxxxxx

Elsa was lost, floating in a black void.

_Where am I?_

_Is this some kind of dream?_

Memories floated in and out of her head. She could recall that she had been doing something very important, but now it was a million miles away.

_Am I dead?_

"One…"

_What was that?_

Elsa looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Two…"

There it was again, carving through the blackness like a hot knife through butter.

_Anna?_

"Three!"

Pain flashed through her body, an agony unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was as if every molecule of her body had been stabbed with a red-hot knife.

The world flashed white, and all thoughts raced from her mind. All but one.

_I must be alive. There's no way death could be this painful._

xxxxxxx

Elsa's eyes shot open. As the miasma of pain subsided, her eyes refocused on the world around them.

The first thing she saw was Anna, holding a bloody piece of ice. When Anna realized she was awake, she threw the piece away and wrapped her arms around her.

"Don't scare me like that again," she said in a tear-soaked voice.

"Ok," said Elsa, still trying to bring back the memory of what she was doing here.

Then she looked up.

Ansbach was directly above them now. Without her to restrain them, wind and rain battered the hill, the town, and them. Her fortress was still standing, but a few pieces had started to fall loose. It certainly wouldn't hold forever.

All of her memories rushed back to her at once. It was not a pleasant experience.

She stood abruptly, looking up at the sky with renewed fear. "Anna, I'm so sorry," she said. "I've brought all of this on you and your family."

"Oh no, don't start with this shit again," Anna said vehemently. "We all came here of our own free will. And do you know why?"

Elsa said nothing, knowing the answer would come in a few seconds.

"Because we believe in you, Elsa. We believe that you have the power to stop this thing. All of us trust you to do it!"

"You…you do?"

"Of course we do! You're the most powerful person on the planet! If anyone can stop this storm, it's you!"

Just hearing Anna say these words filled her with confidence. "All right," she said. "I'll do everything that I can."

"Go get 'em, Elsa!" Anna shouted.

Elsa took a few steps away from her. Her mind, which had been buzzing a moment ago, had fallen silent.

She gathered her strength, breathing slowly and deeply.

_If I'm going to stop this, I'll need something stronger than I've ever done before._

She took a deep breath, holding her arms out to her sides.

_I am the most powerful thing on the planet,_ she thought. _The strongest human being to ever live, if I can even be called a human._

She felt the wind begin to rise.

_I am an elemental being, a primal force of nature. No wind, no storm, no force on earth can rival my strength._

Now it swelled to a powerful gust, blowing all around her in a sphere of wind and energy.

_Even gravity cannot hold me._

Now the wind blasted straight up, lifting her off of the ground. Anna watched, jaw dropped, as Elsa rose into the air, frigid winds blowing all around her.

_If I wished, I could pluck the sun from the sky and crush it in my grip. Every last ounce of power in the universe could not rival the power within me._

She felt the energy within her building, growing larger and larger until she felt her body might explode from it.

_I am a god._

With that thought, she released all of her pent up energy in one powerful burst.

A shockwave emanated from her body, all that energy concentrated into one rapidly expanding bubble.

Trees bent and buckled from the might of this wind, some yanked out of the ground from it.

The black storm clouds were blasted away, flung to the corners of the earth by winds stronger than any hurricane could ever produce.

Anna was knocked onto her back by the force of Elsa's power, eyes wide open in witness of her miracle.

The effect was spectacular. In an instant, hurricane Ansbach was torn asunder. Weathermen around the world were stunned as, on the radar, in front of their eyes, a gaping hole appeared in the hurricane, then grew at lightning speeds, engulfing all of the storm and extinguishing it.

And then, just like that, it was done. Ansbach was no more.

After a few seconds, Anna got to her feet. She looked at the still-intact fortress, then at Elsa, who slowly descended from the sky.

Elsa stared, in awe, at the force she had just unleashed. The valley before them was coated in ice, and hundreds of trees lay on top of them, wholly uprooted.

_Oh my god. I did all of that._

Her feet touched the ground. Anna approached her slowly, then gently put her hand on her shoulder.

Elsa turned to her abruptly. "What am I, Anna?"

Anna was taken aback by the question. "You're Elsa," she answered, concerned.

Elsa looked at her with quavering eyes. "What more than that?" she asked. "Am I some kind of witch?"

A pointed hat and broomstick made of ice appeared in her hands.

"A demon?"

Now the hat and broomstick dissolved, and a pair of horns appeared on her head.

"A god?"

The horns vanished, and a pair of icy wings sprouted from her back.

"Or just some kind of monster?"

The wings wilted, and two bolts grew from her neck.

Anna laughed, shaking her head.

_Always one for the drama._

"None of those," she said happily. "You're just Elsa."

"Just Elsa?" Elsa repeated.

"That's right. You go to Ridgebrook high school, your favorite color is light blue, you love chocolate ice cream, and you're really ticklish. Especially right here," Anna said, reaching out and tickling Elsa right on the back of her neck.

Elsa giggled like a child, wriggling and squirming.

"Now, when's the last time you've seen a ticklish demon?" Anna pointed out, arms folded.

Elsa thought about it. "So, I'm…just Elsa?" she said one more time.

"Of course."

She looked Anna in the eyes. "That's good, because I can't think of anything else that I'd like to be." She smiled.

Anna beamed back at her. "Glad to hear it, just Elsa."

Elsa looked back at the frozen valley. "Now, didn't you have something you wanted to say to me?"

Anna smiled wryly. "I think you already know what I was going to say."

"I want to hear you say it anyway."

"All right." Anna took her hand, staring her straight in the eyes.

"I love you, Elsa."

Warmth flooded Elsa's body. She pulled Anna closer and kissed her, savoring the feeling.

As they kissed, all around them, the ice began to vaporize. Not melt, but simply dissolve into thin air. Elsa's fortress turned to vapor, drifting into the air and vanishing. The valley thawed in a flash, no longer flooded or frozen. Even the clouds disappeared from the sky, leaving nothing behind but a sunny day.

Their kiss seemed to last forever. Elsa wished that it would. But eventually, Anna broke off.

"You realize, of course, what you have to do next."

Elsa nodded. "And I'm really not looking forward to it."

xxxxxxx

Elsa stood outside the doorway, nervous. Beyond that door, the nurses had helpfully told them, her parents waited.

Anna stood next to her, smiling reassuringly. "Just go on, tell them. It'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say," Elsa said. "Your parents just roll with everything. Mine are different."

"Don't worry about it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I'm thinking about it right now, Anna, and it's not pretty."

Anna looked at her. "Do you think they'll stop loving you?"

Elsa was once again shocked by her blunt demeanor. "Of course not!"

"Then you have nothing to lose. Nothing important, anyway."

"I don't know what to say," Elsa worried.

"They aren't expecting a recital. Just talk, it'll come to you."

She turned to Anna. "You'll be right by my side the whole time, right?"

Anna gave her a funny look. "Elsa, I was by your side in a hurricane. A couple of confused parents is nothing."

"I guess you're right," Elsa said. Mentally, she prepared herself to go forward.

She reached for Anna's hand, but Anna pulled it away.

"One bombshell at a time," Anna explained.

"Right, good thinking," Elsa said.

She swallowed. From this day forward, she knew nothing would ever be normal again.

Then again, wasn't that kind of redundant? With all the crazy insane surprises that life held in store, every day was strange and abnormal. Now and then, you may have a normal day or two, but it usually doesn't last long. If it does, then it becomes abnormal in and of itself.

So yes, nothing was normal. But that didn't mean it was a bad thing.

Elsa took a deep breath, and opened the door.

THE END


End file.
